Ending therapy letter generator
Closing letters for three kinds of ending: planned, client-initiated, and the client who stopped replying.
Your letter
Dear [Client's first name],
Following our final session, I am writing to confirm the end of our work together. Thank you for the work you brought; it was a privilege to sit alongside it.
My door stays open. If you ever want to return, whether that is in three months or three years, you would be welcome; just get in touch.
As set out in your agreement, I keep records securely for the retention period and then delete them.
With warm wishes,
[Your name]
Why the non-returner letter matters most
The planned-ending letter is a courtesy. The non-returner letter is practice infrastructure, and it is the one people actually search for at ten at night. When a client disappears, the letter does three quiet jobs: it defines the end of the duty-of-care window instead of leaving it open indefinitely, it closes the file cleanly with a stated date, and it is what an insurer and a professional body expect to see in the record if anyone ever asks what happened.
It also has to be entirely free of reproach, which is harder than it sounds. Anything that hints at “you missed two sessions” as an accusation lands on someone who may already feel ashamed about vanishing, and shame is the single biggest obstacle to them ever coming back, to you or to anyone. The template reads as housekeeping with the door open, because that is what it is.
The signposting toggle exists because a silent non-returner is sometimes a struggling one. Two calm lines, the GP and the Samaritans, no alarm. If your concern is stronger than that, the letter is the wrong tool and your safeguarding process is the right one.
None of the letters contain clinical content, and that is a rule rather than a style. The ending starts the records retention clock, which is set out in your privacy notice: commonly seven years for adults, and the letter itself becomes part of the record the moment it is sent.
Frequently asked questions
Bloom sends and stores documents against the client record, so the ending letter, the signed agreement and the notes live in one place when the retention clock starts.