Across earlier reflections, I explored how emotional restraint, ambivalence, shame, and even limited emotional access may reflect relational processes rather than individual deficits.
This brings us to another familiar clinical moment.
A client speaks about their family with a strong sense of connection.
They remain involved in family decisions.
They feel responsible for their parents’ wellbeing.
They may adjust their own choices in consideration of family needs.
From a certain therapeutic perspective, this can raise concern.
Is the client overly dependent? Are boundaries unclear? Is this enmeshment?
The language of individuation and separation is often used to make sense of these patterns. But what if this way of understanding is incomplete?
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