Teach them how to say goodbye: student therapist termination at a psychodynamic training clinic

<p>Termination is arguably one of the most important aspects of psychotherapy, however, the research into training for termination is sparse. Further, student therapists report that their training for termination provided little guidance, instruction, or acknowledgment of clinical realities around treatment endings. Using a semi-structured interview with a sample of 11 student therapists at a psychodynamic training clinic, this study explored experiences of termination and the preparation for those endings. Qualitative thematic analysis indicated that this group of student therapists did not experience shared and structured termination training but did not feel they were unprepared for the endings with their patients. Further, findings illustrate the <em>ways</em> student therapists were trained–via theory, supervision and experience–as well as <em>what</em> they were preparing for: therapist-initiated terminations of psychodynamic, long-term, open-ended treatment. Implications of this analysis are incorporated into recommendations for the future training of student therapists in termination.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Year dc:date.available

2024

Author dc:creator

• Ferrara, Michael

Contributors dc:contributor

• Sasha Rudenstine
• Paul Wachtel
• Diana Puñales

• Termination
• termination training
• student therapists
• psychodynamic
• forced
• Clinical Psychology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cc_etds_theses/1168

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:academicworks.cuny.edu:cc_etds_theses-2222