ACT for OCD: How to End Therapy

When you are ending treatment with your clients, I recommend going about it gradually for them as well as for you to assess how they’re doing as you're spacing out the time between sessions to see if they can do the things that they’ve been doing in treatment with you on their own. Because that’s what we're going for, is for them to be able to do this on their own without needing to meet with you regularly.

So, I recommend this fading out to maintain their gains and to fade you as a therapist. You can start meeting every other week initially. I usually start with every other week or every three weeks and do that for one month or two months. And then go to once a month for another one or two months. This really is dependent on the client, where they’re at and if you’re seeing that it’s necessary to continue checking in.

Twohig, M. P. (2004). ACT for OCD: Abbreviated treatment manual [unpublished treatment manual]. University of Nevada.

Now, I will say that some clients want to just meet with you once a month forever and I tend to not do that with my clients just because it can become more about safety with having you as a spot to check in, rather than it being something that’s actually necessary. And so that’s something to keep an eye out for when you’re spacing out your sessions, is that you may have to nudge clients a little bit to fully try this on their own and to end treatment with you.

Twohig, M. P. (2004). ACT for OCD: Abbreviated treatment manual [unpublished treatment manual]. University of Nevada.