Leaning Into Termination: New Ideas in Modern Group Analysis

This paper was originally a panel presentation at AGPA Connect, the annual meeting of the American Group Psychotherapy Association, held in March 2025. The author briefly reviews modern analytic myths about therapeutic terminations that may evoke feelings of failure in group leaders and impede their ability to work collaboratively with themselves and group members. These myths can interfere with making terminations a constructive and progressive experience. Three personal and clinical examples are offered to illustrate how the blending of the leader's personal and professional life deepened emotional connections in unexpected ways. The article proposes expansions of modern analytic theory and technique aimed at helping group leaders manage negative feelings around loss, thereby making room for therapeutic repair and emotional growth.