“Can I Still Call You?”: Navigating Termination in Clinical Practice

Termination is a process used in psychotherapy to facilitate the therapeutic ending of the client-clinician relationship. It allows clients to reflect on attachment, grief, and loss, affirm progress toward their goals, and integrate new coping strategies. Clinicians also benefit, as processing these transitions fosters professional sustainability and emotional well-being.

In palliative care social work (PCSW), termination skills are essential for supporting patients through transitions, such as discharge from palliative care clinics. By exploring a patient’s internal and external resources with their support systems, PCSWs help them cope with the many endings they experience—whether related to their health care journey or as they near end of life. While death is the most commonly associated outcome with palliative care, other transitions or endings—such as changes in care settings, treatment plans, or provider relationships—also require therapeutic intervention.

This webinar will explore termination as a resource in palliative care, highlighting clinical situations where it occurs, and introducing a trauma-informed framework for navigating endings. Through team-based debriefs, didactic training, and modeling, PCSWs can help interprofessional colleagues manage their own termination processes, promoting healthier transitions for all. Participants will gain strategies for anticipating and addressing emotions during termination, ensuring a compassionate, supportive approach for both patients and clinicians.