When Your Heart Goes Out to the Child: Reflections on Therapist-Initiated Termination of Treatment in Child and Youth Therapy Groups

Summary

Therapist-initiated termination of treatment for a child from a therapy group presents unique ethical and clinical dilemmas. While termination in group therapy has been widely discussed, the topic of forced termination remains underexplored. This paper expands and elaborates on this issue by addressing key challenges specific to working with younger populations, including therapist-patient-parent dynamics, boundary setting, physical contact, and developmental considerations. We examine the implications of therapist-initiated termination for the child and for other group members. A structured decision-making framework is proposed to assist therapists in evaluating the necessity of removal while minimizing potential harm. By integrating clinical and ethical considerations, this paper offers