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Ending relationships in psychotherapy is an inevitable and profound part of clinical practice. Whether through termination, retirement, or loss, endings call on both therapist and client to navigate separation while honoring the relationship that has been built. This training will explore endings through an analytic and relational lens, emphasizing the concept of “good enough endings,” the developmental importance of repeated goodbyes, and how clients carry the relationship forward as “a home within.” Facilitated by Dr. Toni Heineman and Dr. Bill Feinstein, this training integrates decades of clinical wisdom and reflection on the meaning of endings. As Dr. Heineman has observed:
“Children are born with brains but they’re not born with minds. Minds are created, and the mind of the baby is created through the interaction with the mind of the mother or other caregiver. The child gradually takes his or her mind for her own. So a baby has no past and no future, is just in the present. The future is held in the mind of the parent or caregiver. One of the most insidious things that a child in foster care loses is that single person who keeps them in mind. You get moved from one house to another, and you lose your teddy bear or your favorite blankie or some innocuous toy, but what you really lose is what the foster mother kept in mind for you. That’s left behind.”
Through this lens, participants will examine the profound value of saying goodbye with agency and care, and how therapists can help clients internalize the relationship in ways that endure beyond the formal end of treatment.

This course is eligible for 1.5 continuing education credits.

This course is suitable for Psychologists, LMHCs, MFTs, Social Workers, LPCs, and Counselors.

Introductory

10:30 – 10:35 AM Welcome & Introductions
10:35 – 10:45 AM Framing the Importance of Endings
10:45 – 11:00 AM Developmental Foundations of Separation & Goodbye
11:00 – 11:20 AM Clinical Dimensions of Endings
11:20 – 11:35 AM Strategies for Facilitating Developmentally Appropriate Endings
11:35 – 11:50 AM Applied Case Reflections & Discussion
11:50 AM – 12:00 PM Q&A + Closing

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Identify 2–3 clinical and relational dimensions of endings in psychotherapy, including termination, retirement, and loss.
   
2. List 2–3 strategies for facilitating developmentally appropriate goodbyes across the lifespan.