For counselling students, ending a session is a critical skill so the other person feels held and safe after the session. But many stumble with this question when ending a session.
In the last few minutes of a roleplay session, the goal for counselling students is to wind down the session and land it gently to a close, returning the other person safely.
The Common Question Counselling Students Should Avoid When Ending a Session
Yet it’s common for students ask in those last moments: “Is there anything else you'd like to add?”. And as nice as this phrase is and seemingly helpful, it can be one best avoided.
Why "Is There Anything Else You'd Like to Add?" Can Leave Clients Feeling Vulnerable
Why should we let the client not share something more as we are closing the session? Would that not be kinder and help them make the most their time?
What we need to consider is what it is the conveying to the other person. What is the message we are giving them as we end the session? It is an invitation to bring something brand new to the session. It may be difficult for the budding counselling student to contain this new information in the last minute of a session. They may feel overwhelmed in how to contain this and potentially overrun the session, breaking a valuable boundary.
The Ethical Way to End a Session and Ensure Client Autonomy
Consider this: imagine you are the client. What are you left feeling after disclosing further information? It is reasonable to think that you will feel dismissed or even rejected. For a client, they can leave the session feeling vulnerable, unsafe, and not held. Therefore, it’s ideal to avoid asking the question “Is in anything else like to add?”
The safest way to end the session, particularly when we only have a few minutes left, is to summarise the key points and the experiences that you heard. Reflect those back to the client so they can feel heard, understood, and held as we close the session.
Considerations for Counselling Students When Ending a Session
But if, for whatever reason, we do ask, “Is there anything else you'd like to bring?”, here is one way we can retrieve the session and end in an ethical manner.
After the other person discloses, reply with, “Can I hold that for you so we can return to it at the next session?”. Here we are being ethical by maintaining the boundary, and ensuring the client has autonomy and agency because they get to decide how that information is held, who holds it, and if it’s returned to.
A counterargument however to that is whether the counsellor should be the one to hold that for a whole week. What are they going to do with it? A further way of handling that situation then will be to say, “Thank you for bringing that. I appreciate we are at the end of our time today; I wonder if we can return to that at the beginning of the next session?”
The Importance of Avoiding a Common Question in Ending a Counselling Session
It is common for counselling students to want to give to the other person as much as possible, to help get the most from the session. There can also be a desire for the counsellor to feel valued and needed. This can often be a natural response as students begin their training. What we must be mindful of and consider, is how that effects the other person. Where does it leave them after they have disclosed, and the session is over. Furthermore, where does that leave the counsellor who is left with a disclosure and no space to work with it. In many ways, this common question can leave both the client and counsellor in an unsafe space. And for this reason, especially in training, it is a question best avoided.
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