The 1970s and1980s were dubbed The Me Decade and The Greed Decade due to a pronounced emphasis on individuality and material possessions. For better or worse, psychotherapy of the era followed suit. Small wonder that the family unit began to erode as we began our quest for Self. We therapists followed this rule, sometimes to a fault, imploring patients to be assertive, confrontational and confessional. Family dynamics are, at best, a tinderbox situation.
Brutal honesty lights the fuse that fires the flames.
Resentments expressed turn into bonfires of rage, shattering children and adults in its uncontrollable path. Minds become cluttered with alternating fantasies of revenge and reunion. Separation and individuation are normal and healthy phases of infancy psychological processes, which are begun in the second year of life and are reworked throughout childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Separation relates to personal autonomy, independence, self assertion, and freedom of choice. Individuation relates to identity, uniqueness, having your own interests, points of view , interests, likes and dislikes.