Thinking about the unthinkable

Closing the practice of a dying colleague

  • Margaret Pullar
DOI: https://doi.org/10.9791/ajpanz.2004.06

Abstract

This paper describes the writer's experienceof the many, necessary steps involved in closing the practice of a terminally ill colleague, both before and after the death of the therapist. Its focus is the particular complexity of this task when the therapist is in private practice. It is dedicated to the late Joan Welsh, colleague and friend of the writer. Joan asked that this paper be written as her gift to her colleagues and to the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists.

Author Biography

Margaret Pullar

As recorded in 2004.

Margaret Pullar is a trained Home Economics Teacher whose initial counselling training was in Relationship and Family therapy. She is strongly influenced by her rural farming life as a child in Northland and subsequently in Southland. Clinical Pastoral Education and facilitator experience at several Rural Ministry Seminars provided additional dimensions. Holding a Psychology Degree and an ANZAP Adult Psychotherapy Postgraduate Diploma, she values the Self Psychological theoretical approach. For twelve years Director of Gore Counselling Centre, providing therapy, supervision and educational programmes, Margaret has since 1998 provided a private psychotherapy practice in Gore. Margaret acknowledges the ongoing Dunedin supervisory and colleague support that enables her to work effectively in Southland's rural isolation.

Published
2004-08-30
How to Cite
Pullar, M. (2004). Thinking about the unthinkable: Closing the practice of a dying colleague. Ata: Journal of Psychotherapy Aotearoa New Zealand, 10(1), 46-57. https://doi.org/10.9791/ajpanz.2004.06
Issue
Vol. 10 No. 1 (2004): Forum: The Journal of the New Zealand Association of Psychotherapists (Inc.)
Section
Articles