"While changing perspectives for adult children can feel random, exposure to new ideas about families and one's own family and decisions to act differently emerge at predictable life-cycle moments. It is during these moments that adult children begin shifting their perceptions about healthy family dynamics, sometimes leading to changed behavior or new boundaries. While these are not the only moments of awakening, three experiences consistently emerge in my work with clients navigating family dysfunction."
"Young adults leave home and encounter new ideas, friendships, and perspectives. For those from dysfunctional families, college may expose cracks in the family narrative. Away from day-to-day family life, they observe and compare how other families operate. They may notice differences in communication, affection, and problem-solving. Some have access to therapy for the first time through college counseling centers, providing tools for reflection."
Life transitions create clarity and prompt new family insights. Exposure to new ideas and distance from home at predictable life-cycle moments lead adult children to see normalized dysfunction. College often exposes cracks in family narratives, allows observation and therapy access, and reveals differences in communication, affection, and problem-solving. Romantic partners frequently act as catalysts by offering outside perspectives and supporting boundary-setting, though some partners may be controlling. Having children shifts boundaries and parenting choices, prompting reevaluation of intergenerational patterns. These moments commonly lead adult children to change behavior, set new boundaries, or seek help for family dysfunction.
#life-transitions #family-dysfunction #college-experiences #romantic-relationships #parenting-and-boundaries
Read at Psychology Today
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]