A Psychodynamic Psychotherapist Dies: Grief and Dismantling a Practice as Professional Executor

Abstract

For psychotherapists in private practice, drawing a professional will fulfills the ethical obligation to plan for the impact on patients of sudden termination due to illness or death. The named Practice Executor assumes these responsibilities only when faced with the tragic loss of a colleague, and personal grief affects professional duty. Narrated in first-person voice, this paper conveys the emotional challenges and elucidates the clinical, business, and practical decision-making required to facilitate closure of a psychodynamic psychotherapy practice. Guidelines for Practice Executors, as well as considerations for psychotherapists preparing their own directives, are provided.