Let's examine the counterpart to last week's post on flight into health. Flight into illness is a phenomenon during which a client's symptoms may suddenly return or worsen, often as they approach termination of therapy. Like flight into health, we can consider this to be a defense mechanism, often unconscious. We can also think of it as a form of resistance.
When either the therapist or the client introduces the concept of termination, it can bring up a lot of intense emotions. Depending on what the client has faced in their life and relationships, therapy termination may feel like abandonment, rejection, loss, or a host of other painful experiences. Some clients may naturally respond to these feelings by demonstrating a need for ongoing therapy. If someone's presenting concerns return as termination approaches, or if their manageable symptoms suddenly become worse, they may be experiencing a flight into illness.
Supporting a client with this may look like using here and now interventions to observe and explore their present-moment experience. Sharing your observations of the client's change in symptoms could start a helpful, honest conversation about what's going on underneath them. If flight into illness is occurring in the context of termination, it will help to explore the client's feelings about therapy ending. Do they feel ready? What is this experience reminding them of? What do they need to feel supported? What do they need to support themself?
Are you familiar with other types of resistance? What about other types of resistance to termination? Share your knowledge in the comments!