1st Edition

Terminating Psychotherapy A Clinician's Guide

Edited By William T. O'Donohue, Michael Cucciare Copyright 2008
    576 Pages
    by Routledge

    576 Pages
    by Routledge

    The topic of terminating therapy is not one that clinicians normally consider.  However, the session limits placed on clinicians by managed care require that the end of therapy be built into the treatment plan from the onset. With a focus on the termination of psychotherapy, A Clinician’s Guide examines the pertinent additional training that will aid mental health professionals in providing the most financially sensible and clinically deep treatment for their clients. Specifically, the book provides information on how to identify and understand when and how to discontinue psychological treatment with clients who have achieved sub-par results, as well as with clients who have ulterior motives such as friendship or support. The volume examines how to identify the client’s motivations early in therapy in order to better plan the course of treatment and to effectively prepare for "unplanned" terminations. It supplies important additional training in its discussions on ethical dilemmas, financial and personal consequences, and troubleshooting when it comes to engaging in termination. Offering a comprehensive and practice-focused guide from distinguished contributors, the book covers a wide spectrum of therapy approaches, patient populations and termination strategies.  The book provides an in-depth look at termination by discussing various patient models, types, backgrounds, and problems, noting that with clear goals and a set course of action, the therapist will be better equipped to design a treatment that will best serve the patient’s interest.

    Issues, Controversies, and Strategies. O'Donohue, Cucciare, Editor’s Introduction. Chaffee, Managed Care and Termination. Baum, Forced Termination: Trainees' Treatment Terminations with Clients. Frayn, Premature Termination Issues Involving Psychoanalytic Therapy. Graybar, Leonard, Terminating Psychotherapy Therapeutically. Cummings, Interruption Replaces Termination in Focused, Intermittent Psychotherapy Throughout the Life Cycle. Cucciare, O'Donohue, Clinical Case Conceptualizations and Termination of Psychotherapy. Prochaska, Termination at Each Stage of Change. Welfel, Ethical Issues in Termination. Termination in the Context of Various Treatment Models, Populations, and Patient Problems. Ochoa, Muran, A Relational Take on Termination in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy. Ellman, Termination and Long Term Treatments. Thorpe, McMillan, Owings, Dawson, Behavior Therapy and Termination. Moore, Bursch, Walshaw, Termination of Psychotherapy with Children. Bembry, Termination with Adolescents. Buchanan, Bonsall-Hoekstra, Rodman, Termination of Psychotherapy with Older Adults. Dobson, Haubert, Termination with Persons with Depressive Disorders. Hazlett-Stevens, Termination with Patients with Anxiety Disorders. Seritan, Termination with Patients with Psychotic Disorders. Shahar, Horesh, Cohen, Helping Them "Get Their Act Together"? An Action Theory Approach on Treatment Termination with Patients Suffering from Personality Disorders. Skinstad, Nathan, Termination with Persons with Substance Use Disorders. Strosahl, Chiles, Clinical Considerations in the Termination of Psychotherapy with Suicidal Patients. Harris, Pien-Wong, Termination in Inpatient and Residential Settings. Follette, Therapeutic Issues Involving Termination With Medication. Hiroaki, Termination with Japanese Clients.

    Biography

    William T. O’Donohue, Ph.D., is a full professor in the Department of Psychology and honorary associate professor of Philosophy, at the University of Nevada at Reno.  He is director of the University’s Victims of Crimes Treatment Center, and also its Sexual Assault Prevention and Counseling Services. 

    Michael A. Cucciare, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral research fellow with the Center for Health Care Evaluation at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System and Stanford University School of Medicine.

    "This is a weighty read in every sense. But keep it on your reference shelf to reassure yourself that you are implementing good practice."

    -Fred Richmond, trained as a BACP-accredited integrative counsellor, in  Addiction Today