Professional Ethics

To be able to identify a clear ending to a counseling relationship, we must have a clear understanding of the goals and limitations of treatment. Usually, during the initial evaluation, I identify my client’s short term and long term therapy goals. As therapy progress, we verify goals on a monthly... more

It is usually time to end counseling sessions when it is clear to both the client and the counselor that therapeutic goals have been reached and enough improvement has been made that the client can continue without that support. There are exceptions to this rule, but for the most part this is when... more

As a therapist who believes in client self-determination above most other elements of the process, I want to as much as possible leave it up to the client to determine when they are finished. In the case of a termination because a client's distress has resolved, I might periodically check in with... more

Ideally, termination should be a mutual process. It's not that the therapist kicks the client out at some point and says, "Okay, you're done." Rather, over time the client will decrease the frequency with which he/she comes to session so that it may start off as weekly, then decrease to biweekly... more

For a therapist, deciding to end counseling sessions or terminate working with a client is a thoughtful and intentional decision. One that is not entered into lightly. While there are many considerations counselors take into account, to help answer this question, I'll offer an example of two areas... more

In general, I usually let the client decide when this should occur, sometimes with some clients it will be a joint agreement, but even in that case it should weigh mostly on what the client feels. In short, therapy ends when you feel your done.

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I will work with clients and continually review progress with them and determine if counseling is helping. If a client appears to have less to talk about in sessions, appears more stable for a period of time and has reached therapeutic goals I will talk about termination. Some clients however I... more

This sounds like a potentially serious situation. The most important thing is to make sure the child is safe. If you suspect that a child is (or has been) harmed, I would strongly recommend that you report your concerns to your local law enforcement or to Child Protective Services. If you don't... more

You definitely want to make sure not to inadvertently create an inappropriate dual relationship with a client. In fact, it is not uncommon for state regulatory boards to determine that a clinician and client being in the same 12 step group is professional misconduct. You might want to consider... more

Mental Health is an exciting and rewarding field. I hear you saying that you want to be a psychologist, and that is one path to working in mental health. You could study psychology, social work or counseling to become a practicing therapist. I am a Licensed Professional Counselor Associate and a... more