Running a practice

How to tell clients you're leaving a practice (with examples and templates)

Learn effective strategies for telling clients you're leaving a therapy practice while maintaining trust and ensuring continuity of care for a smooth transition.

September 5, 2025

By Savanah Harvey, AMFT

12 min read

By Savanah Harvey, AMFT

Whether you’re relocating, transitioning to private practice, or taking a pause, leaving a therapy practice can be a complex and emotional process for you and your clients. It’s not just a logistical shift, it’s a clinical and relational change. How you communicate your transition with your clients can strengthen or sever your therapeutic relationship. When done thoughtfully, this process can reinforce trust, model healthy endings, and lay the foundation for your client’s next step in care.

Understanding the emotional impact of therapeutic transitions

Leaving clients can bring up a wide range of emotions, for them and for you. It’s normal for clients to feel sadness, anxiety, grief, or even anger, especially when the work has been long-term or deeply meaningful. Some may fear abandonment or feel unsure about starting over with a new clinician. Others may present unfazed but are still quietly processing the shift internally.

As a therapist, it’s just as natural to feel emotionally conflicted. You might carry guilt about leaving clients mid-treatment, anxiety about how clients will respond, or grief over ending relationships that deeply mattered to you, too. Experiencing these feelings is valid, natural, and human. Naming these emotions can help you stay grounded in practice and in yourself so you can show up with steadiness and care. Supporting continuity of care isn’t just a professional requirement, it’s an extension of the presence, safety, and trust you’ve built throughout your work. Clients deserve transparency, honesty, consistency, and time, especially during endings. I try to offer the same steadiness in terminations that I offer through our therapeutic work.

Preparing yourself before the conversation

Before notifying clients, take some time to create emotional safety for yourself. Creating space to process what this transition means for you (personally and professionally) can bring clarity and steadiness when it's time to speak with clients. Giving yourself time and space to process helps manage complex emotions like guilt, anxiety, or doubt, so you can show up fully for your clients during a challenging time.

Here are a few helpful tips to prepare for the conversation:

Clarify your departure timeline and final date of sessions.
Review legal and ethical responsibilities surrounding termination and continuity of care (documentation, notice periods, licensure if relocating).
Provide referral options and confirm referral availability ahead of time.
Consult with a supervisor or trusted colleague to process your decision and emotions.
Practice how you'll communicate to your clients, considering your tone and language of each client’s unique needs, situation, and relationship.

Preparing for these conversations allows you to stay present with client reactions while honoring the therapeutic relationship you’ve built and fostered together.

Creating effective transition plans for continuity of care

A clear, organized transition plan is essential to helping clients feel seen, supported, and secure, even as you step into a new role. Before sharing your decision, prepare a thoughtful plan that includes:

Referral information: Provide two to three trusted clinicians (with availability) or resources tailored to each client’s clinical needs.
Release of Information (ROI) forms: Have these ready to facilitate communication with new providers, with client consent.
Record transfers: Understand your unique process and timeline for securely transferring client documentation.
Final session planning: Map out any remaining sessions and how you’ll use them to foster meaningful closure.

By creating a clear transition plan and next steps, you can ease uncertainty and reinforce your ongoing commitment to your clients’ care, even as the therapeutic relationship enters a new chapter.

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Timing your announcement appropriately

If you can, it's best to give clients four to eight weeks notice. The state you’re practicing in may also have requirements on notification timing — often a minimum of 30 days — when a relationship with a client is ending. Too little time can feel rushed and inconsiderate, while too much time may lead to emotional detachment or stalled progress. The goal is to find a comfortable window that supports the therapeutic relationship and allows for intentional, meaningful closure.

In addition to thoughtful timing that helps set the tone for a steady, supportive transition, here are a few special considerations:

Long-term clients may need extra empathy, space, and gentleness to process the transition and begin future treatment planning.
Clients in crisis or with high acuity often require more structured support, including coordination with other care providers.
Children and adolescents benefit from developmentally appropriate conversations that involve caregivers and allow for slow, gradual understanding.

Crafting a compassionate notification approach

Every client, relationship, and situation is different. Keeping in mind that although consistency is important, personalization matters. A warm, direct tone paired with clear information can help ease any discomfort, confusion, or misunderstanding.

Creating a supportive space

To work well, peer consultation needs to feel safe for everyone involved. After all, it can feel scary to talk openly about professional challenges.

It sounds obvious, but make sure you respect your peers’ time and energy. If you have a scheduled meeting time, be punctual and show up ready to give the meeting your full attention. It can even be helpful to start the meeting with a mindfulness exercise or other activity that gets everyone into the same frame of mind, Jodoin says.

When it’s your turn to offer feedback, “lead with validation,” Jodoin suggests. Thank your colleague for trusting you and affirm their efforts before you dive into constructive feedback.

Script for an in-person notification:

Hi [client name],

Thank you for being here today. I wanted to start the session by sharing some news with you. I’ll be transitioning out of this practice, and my last day seeing clients here will be [date]. I value the work we’ve done together and the relationship we’ve built. I want to ensure you’re supported in whatever next step you choose, whether that's continuing therapy with someone new or taking a pause.

We have [X number] of sessions left and I’d like to use that time to help you feel prepared, supported, and answer any questions you may have. (If applicable, you can mention continuing therapy at your new practice, and whether rates and/or insurance acceptance will change.)

How is this landing for you? Do you have any initial feelings?

Therapist leaving practice letter sample (email template):

Subject: Important Update About Our Work Together

Hi [client name],

I wanted to personally thank you for the work we have done together and the relationship we have built over the last few years/months. My last day seeing clients at [insert clinic name] will be [date]. It has been an honor to work with you, and I am committed to supporting your care throughout this transition.

The following can be included if applicable:

I will be transitioning to [insert clinic name/private practice] and would love to continue working together. However, I will no longer be accepting insurance and my fee will increase to [insert rate]. If you prefer to stay in-network, I completely understand and am happy to support you in finding another provider who aligns with your needs.

I have attached a list of referrals with availability for your consideration. If you’d like, I can also coordinate directly with your new provider (with your written consent). We have [X number] of sessions remaining, and I’d like to use this time to process the transition and ensure you feel supported.

Thank you for your time, vulnerability, and allowing me to be a part of your journey.

Warmly,

[Your name, credentials]

Optional group practice message (for established caseloads)

To all my clients,

The work we have done together and the relationships we have built over the last few months/years has been invaluable to me. I will be transitioning away from this practice as of [date] and I want to thank each of you for your trust, vulnerability, and allowing me to be part of your journey. I'm grateful for the opportunity to have supported your growth and healing. Transition resources will be shared individually to ensure personalized next steps.

Addressing common client reactions with empathy

Clients' responses to termination news will differ and be accompanied by a wide range of emotions — grief, anger, sadness, denial, or even indifference are common. These reactions often reflect underlying attachment patterns from earlier experiences of disruption and loss.

While each response is different and unique to the client, approach these responses with curiosity and care. Validate and explore the client’s experience, saying something like, “I understand this feels frustrating. Can we explore what this is bringing up for you?” or “It makes sense that this might feel sudden. Can we talk through what you would need to feel supported?”

Make room for conflicted emotions and validate whatever arises. Navigating endings together with honesty and compassion is part of the therapeutic relationship and can become a powerful opportunity for repair and integration.

Facilitating meaningful closure in final sessions

Final sessions can offer beautiful opportunities for reflection, integration, and meaning-making. Thoughtful closure helps clients carry the work forward with a sense of continuity and care. Consider incorporating:

Reviewing progress: Reflect on growth, accomplished goals, and insights.
Acknowledging the relationship: Invite shared reflections, what felt meaningful to them, and what they’ll take away from the therapeutic process.
Creating a transitional object: Something that symbolizes the work you’ve done together: a letter, image, mantra, or grounding tool.
Planning for next steps: Reiterate your support in connecting clients with new providers and/or clarifying what they’d like to continue working on.

Closure doesn't have to be drawn out. When closure is brief, intentional, and clear, it can leave clients feeling respected, supported, and prepared for what comes next.

Self-care strategies during practice transitions

Endings and goodbyes impact us, too. Even when chosen, transitions can elicit grief, fatigue, or unexpected sadness. Whether through supervision, consultation, personal therapy, or prioritizing a consistent exercise routine, make space to tend to your own emotional landscape.

Here are some helpful, supportive strategies to help get you through a transition:

Take longer pauses between final sessions to breathe, reset, and process. Instead of a 10-minute gap, give yourself 20- or 30-minute gaps between sessions.
Journal or create a simple ritual to honor the transition. Going for a walk before sessions, cooking a favorite meal when you get home, going for a swim after sessions, etc. can help your system slow down to process.
Prioritize rest and establish clear boundaries. Value your time to slow down and remind yourself and your loved ones that you need gentleness and support.
Reflect on the meaning and impact of your work. If it feels appropriate, take a few seconds to thank every client for the impact they have had on you.

Headway helps you focus on what matters most

Transitions carry both emotional and logistical weight and stress, from referrals to records and continuous follow-up. Headway helps ease that burden by streamlining insurance billing, intake processes, and secure documentation so you can stay present with your clients during your transition. With tools designed to support your clinical flow, you gain more capacity and opportunity to care for your clients, your values, and yourself. Wherever you are headed next, Headway is here to support you.

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This content is for general informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute clinical, legal, financial, or professional advice. All decisions should be made at the discretion of the individual or organization, in consultation with qualified clinical, legal, or other appropriate professionals.

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