When is it appropriate for you to end a counseling relationship?

• A. When the client completes goals.
• B. When it is clear that the client is not benefiting from counseling.
• C. When the client requests termination.
• D. When the supervisor instructs

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is that the counselor’s responsibility is to assess whether the work is helping the client and to act in the client’s best interest when it isn’t. Ending the counseling relationship is appropriate when it becomes clear that the client is not benefiting from the work. When progress stalls or there’s no real improvement despite appropriate, collaborative efforts, continuing can waste time, drain resources, and potentially harm motivation or trust. In such cases, termination should be considered, with a plan for referral or a change in approach to help the client move forward in a different way.

This is the best choice because it centers on the effectiveness of the counseling and the client’s welfare. Other reasons to end—such as having achieved all goals, or the client requesting termination, or a supervisor directing termination—can occur and may be legitimate in some contexts, but they do not address whether the counseling is producing benefit. If therapy isn’t helping, ending and exploring alternatives is the ethically appropriate course.