how to say goodbye?

Been following the board for a while and am having difficulties with this, so I wanted some advice. For the past eight months or so, I've been seeing a therapist at my university. I'm transgender and deal with depression because of that, so mostly I've just been coming to terms with it as well as some social anxiety issues. It's been really helpful to work through things with him. A couple months in, though, I started to develop feelings for him. The feelings haven't really faded. He's aware of them, but we don't really talk about it because it generally makes me feel positive and it's more important to talk about painful things like social anxiety to overcome that. It hasn't caused a lot of issues, I think, but it's there and it's definitely on my mind a lot.

Last session, he told me that he's leaving the university in a month and a half, as he's finished his doctorate degree and is graduating. He's referring me to a therapist off-campus, which is good because I feel like there's still more things I need to come to terms with, but I am really concerned with how I'm going to deal with saying goodbye to him and letting go with the feelings being as prominent as they are. Once I'm done with therapy, I'm assuming that's it and I'll likely never see him again, and I understand that's how it has to be. It's stupid to say, but I'll miss him a lot. It hurts, and I wish it didn't but it does. What can I do to prepare for that now so that it's easier when it happens in July? What should I say in-session that would be most helpful to avoid it hurting so much when it happens?

I don't think there's anything you can do or say to prevent the grieving process. It's natural and in many ways necessary. You will miss him, of course, and eventually you will come to appreciate everything you achieved with him without that pain.
Perhaps write down a list of things you want to say to him so that there are no regrets when you come to your final session. I'm glad to hear he is offering a good referral. It sounds like he really cares about you.

Hello insertusernamehere7: I see this is your first post here on PC. So... welcome to PsychCentral... from the Skeezyks! I hope you find the time you spend here to be of benefit.

I would have to admit I don't have much experience with this sort of thing. I've seen a few therapists over the years. But never had a good experience with any of them. So leaving was no problem at all. From my perspective, I think the important thing is to use whatever time you have left with this person to talk this through. You will soon have a new therapist with whom you can continue to work on your social anxiety issues. But, right now, bringing your relationship with your current T to a successful conclusion would seem to be the priority.