Separation Resistance in the Termination Phase of Psychotherapy

The termination phase of psychotherapy is a specific developmental period in which therapeutic gains are consolidated while separation-related themes are simultaneously reactivated. The aim of this paper is to examine the phenomenon of separation resistance — the defensive patterns through which a client seeks to avoid the intensity of parting from the therapist — and its function in the termination phase. The paper proceeds from the thesis that separation resistance is not a new problem arising at the end but the final version of patterns present throughout therapy, now placed in the context of the actual relinquishing of the relationship. The phenomenon is analyzed from five theoretical perspectives: psychoanalytic theory, object relations theory, self psychology, attachment theory, and contemporary relational approaches. Particular attention is given to distinguishing developmentally expected from defensive termination, to transference and countertransference reactions, and to typical patterns across clients with pronounced narcissistic, borderline, dependent, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive organizational features. A clinical illustration of a client with pronounced dependent organizational features is presented. The paper integrates these perspectives within the framework of OLI integrative psychodynamic psychotherapy, in which readiness for termination is conceptualized through the development of basic developmental competencies of personality and the internalization of the therapeutic relationship. In conclusion, clinical interventions are proposed that allow the therapist to work through separation resistance without hastening or delaying termination, along with directions for further research, primarily the empirical operationalization of developmental indicators of the termination phase.