jenni, I totally understand how you feel. I've had to end therapy a number of times and the feelings are how you describe. It feels like death. I would suggest very strongly that you don't avoid discussing how you feel about him, and that instead, you are completely honest. Your T is correct about needing to discuss how you feel before you end. Your feelings are normal and T probably understands them. Maybe he's an intern but he seems to know what he's doing!

I quit my first T without really saying goodbye. I was devastated and cried and cried afterwards. I had to see a couple more Ts to "get over" my feelings about the first one. That was a complicated situation so please don't think that will happen to you. I did go back at another time to say "goodbye". It's painful, but it is in your best interests to be honest. Termination is part of the process. You've seen T for a year and that's a long time. I'm sure he has some idea of how important he is to you, but telling him that is for your benefit, not his. You can do this, jenni!