| The post-termination relationship has not been well-studied. This study focused on three primary aims: collecting statistical descriptions of phenomena associated with the post-termination period; examining relationships between post-termination policies, therapist characteristics, and patient recontact behavior; and assessing therapist attitudes toward post-termination contact and associated therapist characteristics. Aims were assessed by soliciting online survey responses from 144 licensed clinicians. Self-report measures of therapist attitudes and therapist policy were created by the author. Several important findings were uncovered. Most salient is the ubiquity of post-termination contact, with over 90% of participants reporting some form of patient-initiated contact and 25% reporting therapist-initiated contact. Results showed that the most common policy type was one that encouraged recontact for further therapeutic need. Results also indicated that attitudes toward post-termination contact tended to be generally positive. Additionally, fewer than half of participants (43%) reported having received graduate training on the subject of post-termination contact, and only 41% reported having an established post-termination policy. Findings also indicated that graduate training was associated with having an established policy, and contact with a former therapist predicted a greater anticipation of positive consequences for both patient and therapist. Implications of these findings, study limitations, and areas for future research are discussed. |
