Writing a post-scriptum to a badly ended therapy

A post-therapy letter is proposed to deal with bad terminations when the client is no longer available for corrective dialogue. It is hypothesized that a bad ending develops out of a negative complementary relationship, in which the therapist's actions increase the client's noncooperation and vice-versa in a self-perpetuating loop. The letter attempts to counter this process. Cases illustrate the principles of letter construction and its possible effects on problem behaviors and on the interpersonal atmosphere between therapist and client.