Termination and Abandonment: Best Ethical Practices for Clinicians
Live Event

Termination and Abandonment: Best Ethical Practices for Clinicians

Sat, Oct 17th, 2026
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

This workshop will cover an introduction to the basics of ethics as a point of context. Just as it is an acceptable and reasonable practice to screen incoming patients, it is acceptable and reasonable to know when to end patient relationships that are no longer therapeutic or appropriate based on patient behaviors. It is critical, however, that the clinician end the relationship in a manner that will not lead to claims of discrimination or abandonment. This session will address proper termination, proper referral, and risk management practices.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Pamela Harmell

Pamela Harmell

Dr. Pamela Harmell, Ph. D. is a national lecturer specializing in legal and ethical issues in clinical practice. She is a Professor at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology and has written extensively in professional publications on ethical practice and has formally studied law. She is the Past President of the Board of Psychology. Dr. Harmell is the former Chair of the California State Ethics Committee and former Chair of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association Ethics Committee. She served on the Board of Directors of the California Psychological Association and is Past President of the Los Angeles County Psychological Association.

Target Audience

This live interactive is intended for Behavioral Health and Addictions professionals, including psychologists, social workers, counselors, marriage & family therapists, art therapists, school psychologists, psychoanalysts, music therapists, behavior analysts, school counselors, and addiction counselors. It is appropriate for intermediate and above levels of knowledge.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Explain the four elements of a proper termination.
  2. 2 List the three elements of a proper referral.
  3. 3 Describe when it is ethically appropriate to terminate the relationship with a client even if the client objects.

Akman, H. (2020). For therapists: What to do when a client no-shows. GoodTherapy. ⁠https://www.goodtherapy.org/for-professionals/business-management/private-practices/article/for-therapists-what-to-do-when-a-client-no-shows

Barnett, J. E. (2016, October). 6 strategies for ethical termination of psychotherapy: And for avoiding abandonment. Society for Psychotherapy. ⁠http://www.societyforpsychotherapy.org/6-strategies-for-ethical-termination-of-psychotherapy

Barnett, J. E., & Coffman, C. (2015, June). Termination and abandonment: A proactive approach to ethical practice. Society for Psychotherapy. ⁠https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/termination-and-abandonment-a-proactive-approach-to-ethical-practice

Barnett, J. E., Knapp, S., Handelsman, M. M., & Kastenberg, J. E. (2024). Key issues and recommendations for ethical and effective endings in psychotherapy. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 55(2), 129. https://doi.org/10.1037/pro0000566

Chambers, L., & Pendle, A. (2024). ‘I guess the ending is the price you pay’. Working at relational depth in a seven‐session model: The impact of regular planned endings on counsellors. Counselling and Psychotherapy Research, 24(2), 758-767. https://doi.org/10.1002/capr.12712

Farber, B. A., Hubbard, E., & Ort, D. (2022). Patients’ experiences of being “ghosted” by their psychotherapists. Psychotherapy, 59(4), 545. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000454

GoodTherapy. (2019). How to navigate termination of therapy with a client. ⁠https://www.goodtherapy.org/for-professionals/business-management/private-practices/article/how-to-navigate-the-termination-of-therapy-with-a-client

Guttmacher Institute. (2019). Refusing to provide health services. ⁠https://www.guttmacher.org/state-policy/explore/refusing-provide-health-services

Hardy, J. A., & Woodhouse, S. S. (2018). How we say goodbye: Research on psychotherapy termination. Society for Psychotherapy. ⁠https://societyforpsychotherapy.org/say-goodbye-research-psychotherapy-termination

Lehman, K., & Edirisinghe, V. (2023). Ending the doctor–patient relationship. Australasian Psychiatry, 31(3), 336-338. https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562231159544

National Association of Social Workers. (2021). Code of ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. ⁠https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Natwick, J. (2017). On the ethics of ending: Termination and referrals. Counseling Today. ⁠https://www.counseling.org/docs/default-source/ethics/ethics-columns/ethics_may_2017_terminations-and-referrals.pdf

Rabinowitz, Y. L., Yim, B., & Muran, J. C. (2025). Termination of psychotherapy: A systematic review. Cogent mental health, 4(1), 2535626. https://doi.org/10.1080/28324765.2025.2535626

Schmidt, C. D., & Gelhert, N. C. (2017). Couples therapy and empathy: An evaluation of the impact of imago relationship therapy on partner empathy levels. The Family Journal, 25(1), 23-30. https://doi.org/10.1177/1066480716678621

Schwartz-Mette, R. A., & Rowan, C. B. (2024). Ethical considerations for complex termination. Practice innovations, 9(3), 181. https://doi.org/10.1037/pri0000235

Welfel, E. R. (2016). Ethics in counseling and psychotherapy: Standards, research, and emerging issues (6th ed.). Cengage Learning.

 

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Joint Accreditation (JA)

3 Psychologist CE credit hours
3 Social Worker CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Oct 17th, 2026
In support of improving patient care, CE Learning Systems, LLC, is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
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American Psychological Association (APA)

3 CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Oct 17th, 2026
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Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

3 CE credit hours Ethics
Eligible until Oct 17th, 2026
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems LLC is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 3 ethics continuing education credit(s).
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3 CE credit hours
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Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (FL CSW, MFT, MHC)

3 CE credit hours CE Broker logo 20-1412888
Eligible until Oct 18th, 2026
Impact CE, a service of CE Learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Board of Clinical Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy and Mental Health Counseling (Provider # 50-315).
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Impact CE, a service of CE learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5069A).
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Florida Board of Psychology

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Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

3 CE credit hours
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AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
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New York Education Department Board of Social Work

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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 8:00am US Pacific Time.

11:00-11:05 – Introduction 

11:05-11:30 – Basics of ethics and law Difference between civil and criminal issues

11:30-12:00 –
Ethics codes; case law; statutes
Reasonable therapist doctrine

12:00-12:30 –
Basics of termination and abandonment 
Eight elements of termination check list
Why termination?

12:30-12:45 – Break

12:45-1:15 –
Basics of patient abandonment 
Termination when it is therapist’s choice

1:15-1:45 –
Four elements of proper termination
Three elements of proper referral 

1:45-2:05 –
What to do when client stops coming to sessions
Proper handling of patient “no show”
Handling patient’s who fail to make payment for services

2:05-2:15 – Q&A

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