This study explored how art therapists experience the retention of clients' artworks after therapy termination. Thirteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with art therapists working in private practice and were subsequently analyzed according to Charmaz's grounded theory approach. Three main categories emerged: 1. "The motivation to retain artworks": how this relates to the needs of both clients and art therapists; 2. "How long should the artworks be retained?": the challenges involved in deciding whether to continue retaining the artworks or not. 3. "Disposal of artwork": the process of disposal and its complexities. The findings reveal that art therapists who retain artworks after therapy termination are in a unique situation: The artworks evoke past therapy and personal experiences, motivating the art therapists to retain them as a way to preserve these experiences. Typically, only certain life situations or the burden of the accumulating artworks spur art therapists to dispose of them. The disposal is difficult, sometimes even impossible.

In contrast to previous research concerning other cases of separation (i.e., mourners or psychotherapists) no separation process was described by the participants following therapy termination and artwork retention. Further studies should explore the possibility that retaining artworks can facilitate a suspension of separation.

这项研究探讨了艺术治疗师在治疗终止后如何体验保留客户艺术品的情况。对从事私人执业的艺术治疗师进行了十三次半结构化访谈，随后根据Charmaz扎根的理论方法进行了分析。出现了三个主要类别：1.“保留艺术品的动机”：这与客户和艺术治疗师的需求有何关系；2.“艺术品应保留多长时间？”：决定是否继续保留艺术品所面临的挑战。3.“艺术品的处置”：处置的过程及其复杂性。研究结果表明，在治疗终止后保留艺术品的艺术治疗师处于一种独特的情况：艺术品唤起了过去的治疗和个人经验，激励艺术治疗师保留他们，以保留这些经验。通常，只有某些生活状况或艺术品的积压会促使艺术治疗师处置它们。处理非常困难，有时甚至是不可能的。

与先前关于其他分离情况（即丧葬者或心理治疗师）的研究相反，参与者在治疗终止和艺术品保留后没有描述分离过程。进一步的研究应探讨保留艺术品可以促进分离的可能性。