Chairs:

Jeffrey Mendell, M.D., CGP, Medical Director, Outpatient Mental Health Clinic, Allegany County Health Department, Cumberland, Maryland
Marsha Vannicelli, Ph.D., CGP, FAGPA, Associate Clinical Professor, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, Massachusetts
 

Salient aspects of termination and loss, as well as resistance to experiencing the attendant sadness, regret and disappointment, will be elucidated. A structured experiential format will help participants to experience the impact and explore the meaning of endings in their own lives, as well as in the groups that they lead as they come up against this particular end boundary-the end of the conference.
experiential-sharing of work experiences
 

Learning Objectives:

The attendee will be able to:
1. Describe salient aspects of termination, grieving and loss as it relates to their own personal experience.
2. Enumerate the complicated feelings associated with endings.
3. Describe the work that gets done as people are faced with the task of saying goodbye.
4. Prepare their patients more effectively for the work of termination.
 

Course References:  

1. Lothstein, L. (1993). Termination processes in group psychotherapy. In H. Kaplan & B. Sadock (Eds.). Comprehensive Group Psychotherapy. Philadelphia: Williams and Wilkins. 115-124.
2. Schermer, V. & Klein, R. (1996). Termination in Group Psychotherapy from the perspectives of contemporary object relations theory and self psychology. International Journal of Group Psychotherapy 46(1) 99-115.
3. Vannicelli, M. (1992). Removing the final patient roadblock: Termination. In Removing the Roadblocks: Group Psychotherapy with substance abusers and family members. NY: Guilford Press