Clinical and Conceptual Considerations of Endings and Terminations of Psychoanalytic Treatments (406)

Instructor: Dorothy E. Holmes, Ph.D., ABPP, FABP

Distance Learners Welcome; Instructor is teaching remotely

The word “termination” is inadequate for the various ways in which a psychoanalytic treatment may be concluded.  The word “termination” derives from Freud’s scant work on the conclusion of psychoanalytic treatment.  Some treatments end abruptly, unilaterally, and/or with intense affective aspects and results that fall short of the treatment goals.  At best, “termination” is a shortcut for the variety of ways, satisfactory and not so satisfactory, that treatments conclude.  This course will consider the history of “termination” in terms of older classical views, including but not limited to Freud’s. 

More contemporary Freudian and relational/interpersonal points of will also be considered.  Other dimensions of a treatment’s conclusion will also be studied:  who decides, whether it is planned or not, mutual or not, or an impasse.  Further, we will study indicators for concluding treatment, and complicating factors such as diagnosis, a history of trauma, and attachment issues.  

Prerequisite: This is an advanced course is intended for clinicians who have completed the core curriculum. Applicants who do not meet this requirement can register for the course with permission of the instructor.

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CME Credits: 12 / CE: 12 clock hours / NBCC: 12 clock hours / All others: Letter of Attendance

About the Instructor: Dorothy E.Holmes, PhD, ABPP, FABP 

Course Syllabus: click here

Registration and Tuition Deadline is March 17. 
$25 Registration Fee is due at time of application.
Tuition: $315
$235 for students matriculated in the training programs 
$290 for residents and graduate students
Payment plans can be arranged with the Administrator
Matriculated students aren't charged a course registration fee.  Students who register for more than one course in a semester pay only one registration fee.  In special circumstances we may accept registrations after the registration deadline, but there will be an additional $20 late registration fee.
Course Cancellation Policy

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Course Learning Objectives: Upon completion, class participants will be able to:

1. Identify concepts and technique applied to treatment endings that Freud and other early analysts espoused.
2. Describe and assess the utility of early criteria for terminating treatment.
3. Explain and critique how the Freudian perspective on termination was elaborated as a mourning process.
4. Describe readiness to end treatment in relation to good enough accomplishment of analytic goals and to what additional analytic work might be done.
5. Describe the conceptual differences between relational/interpersonal perspectives and classical ones.
6. Discuss the complexity of what might be a “good-enough” ending in relation to the difficulties in terminating a positive attachment relationship.
7. Identify and distinguish between impasse and readiness to end.
8. Discuss critically whether and how an ending was co-constructed and about the role of self-analysis.
9. Discuss the possibility/necessity of post-termination contacts with patients.
10. Discuss how one’s own perfectionistic tendencies as an analyst may interfere in achieving a “good enough” ending to treatment.

CE & CME Information: