The author divides his discussion of this topic into the following points. 1. Precondition for the terminal phase is successful engagement in a true analytic process. 2. A fundamental criterion for beginning the terminal phase is when the transference is increasingly experienced mainly at an oedipal level of organization. 3. Termination is seen as not merely a treatment issue, but the central task of adolescence. 4. The clinical aspects of the phase itself are not significantly different from that in adults. 5. In considering termination and treatment goals in adolescents, special attention must be paid to the distinction between internal and external change.