"The idea of cutting off ties with one's family emerged in the 1980s, mainly through 12-step addiction and recovery movements such as Adult Children of Alcoholics. Therapists began adopting recovery-addiction terminology such as "toxic parents," "dysfunctional families," "setting boundaries," and "breaking the cycle." We began seeing the value of such distancing when dealing with clients who had long-unresolved issues of trauma and abuse in their families."
"For the most part, cutoffs in those days were client-driven, not therapist-prescribed. The idea of cutting from one's family has gone through something of an evolution, falling out of favor when some therapists began relying on the idea of exploring repressed memories, which often led to false accusations and unnecessary cutoffs. You can imagine the pain this caused all parties involved."
Some clients consider severing contact with one or both parents when relational wounds are severe. The practice of cutting ties originated in the 1980s through 12-step addiction and recovery groups like Adult Children of Alcoholics and introduced terms such as toxic parents, dysfunctional families, setting boundaries, and breaking the cycle. Early cutoffs were primarily client-driven and recognized as useful for addressing long-unresolved trauma and abuse. Later reliance on recovered-memory frameworks led to false accusations and unnecessary separations. More recently, younger therapists appear likelier to recommend cutoffs. Some relationships are irreparable, while reconnection can offer a meaningful closing chapter.
Read at Psychology Today
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