Facilitating transformative endings: Therapists' experience of ending therapy with people with intellectual disabilities—An interpretative phenomenological analysis.

Background: Endings in therapy are discussed widely in mainstream literature, however, there is only a small amount of research that considers endings in therapy for people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Eight therapists were interviewed about their experience of ending therapy with people with intellectual disabilities. Interviews were analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Four superordinate themes associated with endings that go well were identified: 'recognising', 'readying', 'reframing' and reflecting', with a fifth theme reflecting endings that were less successful. Participants worked hard to offer transformative experiences of endings and an overarching 'super‐superordinate' theme of 'facilitating transformative endings' encompassed the findings. Conclusions: Endings are a multi‐faceted component of psychological therapy with people with intellectual disabilities and are significant for both client and therapist. We discuss implications for therapy adaptations and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]