When Family Ties Unravel: Clinical Issues of Parental Estrangement and Adult Children

When Family Ties Unravel: Clinical Issues of Parental Estrangement and Adult Children

Parental estrangement is a growing and complex phenomenon affecting many families, particularly in the context of adult children distancing themselves from their parents or parents needing to disconnect from their children. This course is designed for mental health clinicians seeking to deepen their understanding of estrangement and its profound impact on both parents and adult children. Through this course, clinicians will gain insights into the emotional, psychological, and relational implications of estrangement. They will also learn how to identify the contributing factors, assess clients' needs, and understand techniques and clinical interventions. Clinicians will be equipped to support clients struggling with estrangement, whether they are seeking reconciliation or processing the loss of the relationship.

Learning Objectives:

      1. Define and understand the concept of parental estrangement, distinguishing features as well as recognizable clinical signs and symptoms.

2. Understand the emotional and psychological effects of estrangement on both parents and adult children, including anger, grief, guilt, and shame, as well as the long-term impacts family dynamics and relationships.

3. Explore the common factors that contribute to parental estrangement, including relational dynamics, past trauma, personality disorders, parental alienation, family pressure, as well as societal/political or cultural influences.

4. Understand the implications for boundary setting that may lead to parental/ adult child estrangement.

5. Develop the ability to assess the dynamics of estrangement during clinical sessions, including the level of emotional distress, patterns of behavior, boundary setting and underlying causes from a trauma-informed perspective.

6. Learn how to Implement various clinical/therapeutic techniques utilizing interventions such as grief counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, EMDR, Brainspotting, psychodynamic and IFS to help clients process emotions and navigate the complexities around ongoing estrangement.

7. Understand how to facilitate clinical sessions around reconciliation, development of realistic expectations, healthy boundaries, and coping mechanisms.

Specific new skills that will be taught include:

• Understand the principles and dynamics of parental estrangement and adult children.
• Understand and identify the unique emotional and psychological needs of estranged adult children and parents.
• Apply therapeutic interventions tailored to the stages of estrangement and its impact on both parents and adult children.
• Learn how to help estranged family members create structures around effective communication, decision making, and boundaries should reconciliation be possible or if estrangement continues.
• Understand the ethical issues involved in working with estranged families, including confidentiality, bias, and autonomy.
• Learn how to support one parent or child in navigating estrangement when the other party is unwilling or uncooperative.
• Adapt interventions to meet the unique cultural needs of diverse families, including LGBTQ+ individuals and families facing estrangement.
• Apply trauma-informed care principles to understand and address the potential trauma experienced by both adult children and parents during estrangement.
• Develop self-care strategies to manage the emotional demands of working with estranged families.
• Empower clients to navigate the challenges of estrangement and build resilience, regardless of the outcome.
• Understand the dynamics of parental alienation and how this can lead to estranged parents and adult children.

Teaching Methods:

 This course will be taught with a combination of methods including didactic lecture and interactive activities which will:

• Offer participants the opportunity to practice the skills, techniques and strategies that prepare them for working with adult children and families as related to estrangement.
• Engage participants in experiencing the client perspective through hands-on experiential exercises.
• Discussion of how to apply clinical skills relating to estrangement, as well as provide case examples throughout.