Objective: Examining the significance of the termination stage of support group activity and its effectiveness in alleviating anxiety among patients recovering from their first heart attack. Methods: 82 patients, 50 of whom participated in seven support groups, fill in questionnaires at six stages of the group intervention. Six observers conducted two stages of qualitative analysis of the groups'last meetings'videotapes. Results: The findings revealed a temporary increase in anxiety levels during the termination stage among the groups that effectively alleviated anxiety. These findings are partially explained by two components of the Group Environmental Scale: cohesiveness and task orientation. Resistance and ambivalence were typical behavior patterns of members at the termination stage of effective groups. Conclusions: Measuring group effectiveness before, during, and after the intervention enriches the knowledge of the correlation between group processes and group outcomes. Identifying behavior patterns contribute to social worker's online ability to evaluate group effectiveness.Theoretical approaches that have looked at the termination phase of a support group (Flapan & Fenchel, 1987;Keyton, 1993;Yalom, 1985) claim that particular experiences that are important to the health of individual group members are liable to arise at this stage of the group's development. These experiences concern separation, a sense of loss, abandonment anxiety, and an uncertainty regarding the future. These feelings are liable to upset emotional balance and increase the participants' anxiety levels (Eklof, 1984) thereby putting the efficacy of the group and its evaluation into question. Such questions are especially important when regarding patients recovering from heart attack whose principal purpose of attending support groups is to alleviate 656