This is one of the new sections in the ethical framework which has been developed in response to issues that clients have raised and also issues which have touched on practitioners lives as well. So what we've tried to think through is how do the concerns around breaks and endings arise. We've realised they arise in a number of different ways and in each case we try to give some basic guidance on how to avoid difficulties. So in terms of planned endings like holidays, limits to the number of sessions a client might be offered, these are the sorts of things that could be dealt with at...
The beginning of the relationship in terms of the contracting or be raised during a relationship, so clients are informed in advance. But of course not all situations arise in a planned way. So there are some situations which arise because there's something about what the client is presenting that's problematic for the practitioner. and maybe they feel out of their area of competence to deal with it.
And that requires discussion in supervision and some sort of planned way, either for referring the client elsewhere or possibly continuing to provide a service, but with additional support so that the client is adequately supported and the issues addressed. The Other situation which has arisen and there have been some really sad experiences of this where clients and sometimes colleagues have found themselves in difficulty is where someone becomes suddenly and unexpectedly seriously ill or even dies. And there have been situations where clients have turned up for an appointment and either had no response or just found a notice saying Service is closed due to the death of a practitioner. And some clients have been informed by a relative who may themselves be very distressed. And the client's feeling actually almost feeling a responsibility to address the distress of someone who's been affected.
So we tried to think through what would be appropriate ways of managing these situations. And for that one, we have some very specific guidance.