How to Terminate Marriage Counseling

Deciding to terminate marriage counseling requires thought and careful consideration.

If you are involved in marriage counseling and you are thinking about discontinuing treatment, there are a few things to consider. Some important things to think about are whether you and your partner are both in agreement about ending therapy, and whether you've consulted with your therapist before making the final decision to stop your sessions.

Instructions

Termination of Marriage Counseling

1. Evaluate your progress so far. Think about whether you have accomplished the goals you originally set when entering therapy. Be honest when making this assessment, as many couples decide to end counseling prematurely because they have hit a tender or difficult spot. Working through the difficult times can often lead to some sort of resolution of the issues which brought you to counseling in the first place. However, sometimes you may feel that therapy isn't getting you anywhere, or that you've hit a dead end, in which case, it may be appropriate to end treatment.

2. Have an honest discussion with your spouse and with your therapist about your reasons for wanting to end treatment. If you and your spouse are both on the same page and agree that progress has been made and you've met your goals for therapy, or if you feel that therapy is not helping or is not right for you at this time, it will be easier to complete the termination process. Sometimes it is the case that one spouse wants to stop therapy and the other does not, in which case your therapist should be able to provide some intervention and see if there are obstacles which can realistically be overcome if both parties are still willing to continue treatment for a short time.

3. Choose an end date for therapy in conjunction with your therapist. Depending on the length of time you've been in treatment and your relationship with your therapist, it can take several additional sessions to complete the termination process. You will discuss your goals and accomplishments, and process feelings about ending treatment. Understand that ending treatment can be difficult, because you are also ending what may have been a long relationship with your therapist, and it can take some time to fully deal with these feelings. While it is very common for patients to cancel their last appointment, as John McGrohol, Psy.D points out in his article on ending psychotherapy, it is generally a good idea to avoid doing this, because attending your last session offers a final opportunity to give closure to the process.

References

• PsychCentral: Termination