Ending With Options

No matter what has come before, if the ending of the analytic relationship is not managed sensitively, much good may be undone. Analytic endings are emotionally challenging for analysts as well as patients. What was missing from the classical approach, at least as interpreted by Freud's American disciples, was appreciation of the personal relationship (Flank, 2006 Frank, K. A. 2006. Toward conceptualizing the personal relationship in therapeutic action: Beyond the “real” relationship.. Psychoanal. Perspectives, 3: 6–43.  [Google Scholar]). In a relational view, the ending must be considered uniquely and mutually negotiated as part of a relationship that is both technical and personal. Accordingly, both permanent separation and separation with possible return are seen as just two of many possibilities for ending that the pair may co-create. Other options must also be considered.