Spirituality in therapy termination.

Abstract

Termination of therapy is as important as the initial phase -Gerald Corey Some people believe that therapy never ceases, that clients continue their dialogues with us for the rest of their lives.-^Jeffrey KottlerTermination is meant to solidify the transition from clients' reliance on therapists to bring change in their life to a reliance on internalized strengths and insights that maintain the progress realized in therapy. Although the termination stage is an important part of the therapeutic process and some researchers have focused attention on teimination in mote recent yeais (e.g., Joyce, Piper, Ogiodniczuk, & Klein, 2006), teimination has received relatively little attention in the mental health literature. The topic of teimination has traditionally been the "ditty little secret" of counseling and psychotheiapy, and novice theiapists are often left to figure out the piocess on theii own accoid (Schlesinger, 2005). Foi these veiy reasons, it is important that teimination be addressed in this book, not only by highlighting this undeistudied stage of tieatment but also by biinging attention to an even fuithei undeistudied topic: the role of spiiituality in teimination. Thus, the puipose of this chapter is to piovide a strategy foi addressing spiiituality during teimination. Common spiiitual issues that are often encountered by theiapists duiing teimination are also highlighted. Before discussing how spirituality can be integrated into this stage of the therapeutic process, we piovide a conceptual framewoik foi undeistanding teimination.

Sacred adolescence: Practical suggestions for psychologists working with adolescents' religious and spiritual identity.

“…Psychologists view religion less favorably than adolescents in general (Smith & Denton, 2006), and as less important than their clients (Shafranske, 1996). Research indicates that psychologists often view religious clients more pessimistically than nonreligious clients (Aten et al, 2009). It is possible that psychologists' own views on religion and their own lack of spiritual/religious identity self-awareness may prompt them to view spiritual/religious adolescent clients more negatively than other clients.…”