Endings: Honoring Growth And The Meaning Of Termination
For most people, endings can bring up a range of emotions -anxiety, excitement, fear, sadness, hope, gratitude or even relief. In the Art Therapy process, the ending of a therapeutic relationship is referred to as termination. While challenging at times, it is essential to the therapeutic process and can be a beautiful time to reflect, process and validate the clients growth.
Why You May Be Terminating With Your Therapist
There are a couple of different reasons why the client and/or therapist may decide it is time to process termination in treatment. Some of these may include:
Moving : because each state has different licensure requirements, termination may be necessary if the therapist or client is moving to a different state or country that may not permit the continued relationship. This may apply if the therapist/client is moving to a different city that may not be as accessible for in person sessions or if Telehealth is not an option.
Progress : clients often come to therapy with goals in mind that they are working towards in treatment. There comes a time in treatment where a client perhaps has met these goals and does not necessarily need the additional support and is ready to transition out of weekly sessions with his/her therapist.
Shifts in the therapeutic relationship : as humans we are always shifting and evolving and there may come a time when the therapeutic relationship no longer feels like a good fit. That can be due to what your current needs may now be, limitation of what your therapist can provide or even just a desire for something new.
Why Termination Is Important In The Therapeutic Process
Endings are an inevitable experience in life. While it may be the ending of a friendship, moving to a new city, breaking up with a significant other or the death of a loved one, endings come in many different ways. The nature of the ending and our relationship to the experience can often shape the way we relate and even feel to endings. In an ideal world we would get to always have what we consider a positive experience when it relates to endings which may prove them to be less challenging. However, this is not always the case.
The therapeutic space creates a relationship between the client and therapist build on trust, safety and understanding. The therapeutic space can be one to process emotions, to feel held in overcoming challenges, to foster inner confidence and so much more. It is because of the rapport and safety of the space that processing termination and endings in a therapeutic space can be incredibly healing - not just for the current ending but even for the ones experienced in the past.
In terminating in the therapeutic space you may reflect on: your personal growth and progress, what are new coping skills you have implemented and developed, honor the positive therapeutic relationship and even the challenges that may have presented themselves, your past experiences with endings, how you coped, how you would like to cope and the feelings that arose. Rather than holding on to old stories about endings, termination can help you rewrite your relationship to them.
How Art Therapy Can Help You Process Termination
One of the key benefits and components in Art Therapy is the ability to process using art-making and materials versus only using words. Using the art-making process therapeutically can help you to express yourself and your feelings, gain understanding or perspective and connect with your subconscious in a fun and playful way.
Because endings and processing termination can bring up so many feelings, using art materials can be a beautiful way to support yourself through the experience.
Some ways you may process termination in an Art Therapy space may include:
creating a piece of art in the time which you are processing termination with your therapist - this can be something you then take home with you to honor your process.
creating a roadmap of your therapeutic journey - listing challenges, accomplishments, coping skills, etc.
making an Art Therapy toolkit of all the things you learned and will be taking with you as you move forward
a joint project with your therapist as you share and discuss your experience together.
Endings Can Also Mark New Beginnings
We may hold on to the belief that an ending erases what has come before : that a death takes away from the joyful memories, that a breakup means were incapable of love or that ending with our therapist means needing to “start all over” with the next one. But termination does not erase the work done in therapy. Termination can be a beautiful starting point for what’s to come thanks to the reflection, increased emotion regulation and even the experience of a positive relationship to another. Termination can be just as valuable as the therapeutic process in teaching you more about yourself, your resilience and ability to adapt and change with the things that may be inevitable in life.
So rather than trying to escape and run away from endings, how may we benefit from the experience of being held in a space to really process and be present to what is? After all, that is much of what the therapeutic process is about.
