How Do Referrals Work?

My question is regarding a situation where a client is terminated and the therapist gives the (now former) client a referral to another therapist (or gives the names of several potential new therapists). My assumption is that it is the client who approaches the (potential) new therapist. (That is, the former therapist does not concern themselves beyond the giving of names to the client.) Or, does the former therapist have the right to contact the person(s) to whom the client was referred to see if the client has entered therapy with someone new?

Yes, it's up to the client to approach the new therapists, unless you've made an explicit agreement with your former therapist that he/she will help to facilitate a referral. In that case, you would need to have signed an authorization to release your information (at least in the US) for the former therapist to contact the new therapist at all.

It's up to the client to contact new therapists. You can sign a release with the old therapist, allowing them to talk to your new therapist...if that is done, you generally also sign a release with the new therapist, and they would contact your old one.

I was terminated with my therapist and given a referral. It was up to me to make the contact the therapist. The therapist that terminated did call to see if I'd booked with the other therapist a few weeks later, because I had been unsure about what I was going to do.

You can have one therapist talk to another, but make sure you talk about this and set it up before you finish treatment with your first provider. My previous therapist was supposed to talk to my new therapist, but she never did. I should have insisted on it before the end of our sessions, but I trusted her to do what she said she was going to. You don't HAVE to let them talk though. Sometimes it's easier if they don't pass on their obvious prejudices about you to someone else. Thankfully, my new therapist was interested in knowing me for myself and not what someone else thought.

This is precisely the situation I was getting at. That is, is it not a breach of confidentiality if one therapist gives a person's name to another therapist and asks if that person has entered into therapy with them?!?

I dont think the first t is going to call the 2nd t to check up on what you are doing. That sounds more like what a probation officer would do? It would really be out of line, and the 2nd t would not really be allowed to disclose anything, i dont think.