Contributed by Joshua Coleman

2 Results
The top half of a man looks over at the bottom half of his body as it walks away

The Client on the Brink of Estrangement

Two Clinical Responses to the Question of Cutoffs

Cutting family members off is one of the most fraught decisions a client can make—and one of the hardest to navigate as a therapist. Read more

An illustration of a family photo ripped down the middle

When Therapists Encourage Family Cutoffs

Are We Helping or Harming?

Today’s culture of therapy both reflects and contributes to our nation’s ever-growing embrace of individualism—for better and, sometimes, for worse. Read more

Joshua Coleman

Joshua Coleman, PhD, is a psychologist in private practice, a Senior Fellow with the Council on Contemporary Families, and one of the world’s leading experts on family estrangement. He’s the author of five books, including The Rules of Estrangement: Why Adult Children Cut Ties and How to Heal the Conflict, which The New York Times named “One of the five books most recommended by researchers on estrangement.” His forthcoming book, Estrangement Reconciliation Therapy: A New Model for Treating Family Conflict is the first comprehensive clinical guide to treating family estrangement for mental health professionals. Dr. Coleman has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and chapters on estrangement, is a frequent contributor to The Atlantic and The Washington Post, and has provided trainings for the American Psychological Association, Stanford University, Weill Cornell Department of Psychiatry, the University of California, Irvine Department of Psychiatry, and other leading academic institutions. A frequent guest on the Today show, NPR, and NYU Doctor Radio, he has also appeared on Oprah, Good Morning America, 20/20, Dr. Phil, PBS, CNN, the BBC, Sesame Street, The New Yorker, TIME, and numerous national television and radio programs. Contact: www.drjoshuacoleman.com.