Why do people end therapy before they are ready?
Life’s challenges can be overwhelming; everyone deserves a space to feel heard and supported. At Roamers Therapy, we provide trauma-informed, culturally sensitive, LGBTQIA+ affirming, and evidence-based environments to help you heal, grow, and navigate your mental well-being journey. As your psychotherapist, we are here to guide you every step of the way.
Ending therapy or terminating a therapeutic relationship is a normal part of the therapeutic process. While some therapy styles might have a set timeline with an exact end date (such as some executive functioning training), most therapy relationships do not.
Terminating Therapy Early
Each therapeutic relationship has its own journey, and in an ideal world, therapy would end at a mutually agreed-upon place. However, this is not always the case. People may decide to prematurely terminate a therapeutic relationship early for a number of different reasons, which may be either within or outside of their control.
Factors Outside of Our Control
Common factors that are outside of our control which may lead us to terminate therapy early include some of the following:
- Financial constraints
- Insurance changes
- Scheduling changes
- Therapists leaving
- Health issues
- Therapist’s expertise or scope of practice
- Client-provider fit
- Therapist’s style or approach
Factors Within Our Control
Common factors that are within our control which may lead us to terminate therapy early include some of the following:
- Readiness to change
- Willingness or desire to change
- Ability to make a commitment
- Client-provider fit
- Skewed expectations of therapy and therapeutic process
- Willingness to go through the healing process
- Attachment or avoidance
- Reluctance to provide therapist with feedback
How Does Terminating Therapy Affect Us?
The therapeutic relationship is a social relationship, like any other relationship we may find ourselves in. As such, when a therapeutic relationship ends (whether we initiate termination or not), we may feel emotions similar to any other relationship termination:
- Anger
- Grief
- Sadness or depression
- Fear or anxiety
- Guilt
- Shame or embarrassment
- Betrayal
- Abandonment
How to Avoid Early Termination
If you are in a therapeutic relationship and are considering terminating before you are ready, there are a few things you can do.
If the situation is within your control, ask yourself the following:
- Why am I terminating therapy?
- Is there a rupture I can work through?
- How will I manage my mental health without therapy?
If the situation is outside of your control, ask yourself the following:
- Can my therapist help prepare me for termination?
- Does my therapist have referrals for me?
- How will I manage my mental health without therapy?
Find the Best Therapist in Chicago to Manage Early Termination
If you have terminated therapy prematurely, there are a few things you can do to manage this change:
- Ask your therapist to help prepare you for the termination.
- Develop a mental health maintenance and safety plan.
- Identify self-care and coping strategies.
- Allow yourself to grieve the loss of the relationship.
- Understand that you can rebuild a therapeutic relationship with someone new.
- Outline steps you would take to restart therapy if/when needed.
- Reflect on the meaning of this termination.
- Ask for referrals from your therapist.
At Roamers Therapy, our psychotherapists are here to support you through anxiety, depression, trauma and relationship issues, race-ethnicity issues, LGBTQIA+ issues, ADHD, Autism, or any challenges you encounter. Our psychotherapists are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavioral Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy, Acceptance, and Commitment Therapy, Person-Centered Therapy, and Gottman Therapy.
Whether you’re seeking guidance on a specific issue or need help navigating difficult emotions, we’re ready to assist you every step of the way.
Contact us today to learn more about our services and schedule a session with our mental health professionals to begin your healing journey. To get started with therapy, visit our booking page.
First, decide if you’ll be paying out-of-pocket or using insurance. If you’re a self-pay client, you can book directly through the “Book Now” page or fill out the “Self-Pay/Out-of-network Inquiry Form.” If you’re using insurance, fill out the “Insurance Verification Form” to receive details about your costs and availability. Please let us know your preferred therapist. If your preferred therapist isn’t available, you can join the waitlist by emailing us. Once your appointment is confirmed, you’ll receive intake documents to complete before your first session.
This page is also part of the Roamers Therapy Glossary; a collection of mental-health related definitions that are written by our therapists.
While our offices are currently located at the South Loop neighborhood of Downtown Chicago, Illinois, we also welcome and serve clients for online therapy from anywhere in Illinois and Washington, D.C. Clients from the Chicagoland area may choose in-office or online therapy and usually commute from surrounding areas such as River North, West Loop, Gold Coast, Old Town, Lincoln Park, Lake View, Rogers Park, Logan Square, Pilsen, Bridgeport, Little Village, Bronzeville, South Shore, Hyde Park, Back of the Yards, Wicker Park, Bucktown and many more. You can visit our contact page to access detailed information on our office location.