Prologue

During the final phase of an analysis, questions about its purpose, meaning, and effectiveness are highlighted. Because of the approaching conclusion of the shared analytic work and the impending dissolution of the analytic relationship, the patient and the analyst are brought closer to the truth of what transpires during this unique interactional process. Despite many past studies, existing theoretical and clinical formulations of the goals of analysis and the techniques of the final phase do not fully explain the complex occurrences of an analytic termination. Thus, we believe that a fresh exploration of the termination phase can contribute to a deeper understanding of both the process that characterizes the final phase and the analysis as a whole.

In “Termination: Themes and Issues,” Jack Novick surveys the major formulations of and disagreements about the ending phase. He emphasizes the necessity of differentiating the type of termination—mutually agreed-upon, forced, or unilateral. He then postulates that a pattern of threatened unilateral termination, based on adolescent-like dynamics, frequently develops as a precondition of the termination phase. The meaning of this inclination must be analyzed before a true termination can start. Novick continues by emphasizing the necessity of differentiating criteria of cure from criteria for starting a terminal phase. On the clinical level, he underlines the need to distinguish the broaching of the topic and the setting of a date. Turning to some of the major controversies associated with termination, he considers if the mourning of the analyst is that of a real object or a transference object. Novick concludes with a discussion of the goals of an analysis and the postanalytic phase.

Offering “Some Thoughts on Termination,” Leo Rangell draws on his extensive experience as a psychoanalyst to present a