Termination of psychodynamic psychotherapy with adolescents: A review and contemporary perspective.

In psychodynamic psychotherapy with adolescents, termination-the phase of treatment during which the patient and his or her parents end a therapeutic relationship with a therapist-has received limited attention in the extant literature. Despite this oversight, termination is of critical clinical importance. This phase of psychotherapy with adolescents is heralded by the integration and consolidation of progress, relational changes, and the relinquishing of the symptoms that brought the adolescent to treatment. Herein, the relevant literature surrounding termination in psychodynamic psychotherapeutic work with adolescents will be reviewed. Important aspects of termination will be highlighted and discussed, including (1) criteria for termination, (2) techniques for working with parents, (3) "forced terminations," (4) countertransference, and (5) common complications that arise during this phase of treatment. Finally, the complexities of the termination process as well as recent contributions to our understanding of this critically important process from attachment theory and intersubjectivity will be illustrated with clinical material.