Enmeshment is a concept in

psychology Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...

and psychotherapy introduced by

Salvador Minuchin Salvador Minuchin (October 13, 1921 – October 30, 2017) was a family therapist born and raised in San Salvador, Entre Ríos, Argentina. He developed structural family therapy, which addresses problems within a family by charting the relationship ...

(1921–2017) to describe families where

personal boundaries Personal boundaries or the act of'' setting boundaries'' is a life skill that has been popularized by self help authors and support groups since the mid 1980s. It is the practice of openly communicating and asserting personal values as way to ...

are diffused, sub-systems undifferentiated, and over-concern for others leads to a loss of autonomous development. Enmeshed in parental needs, trapped in a discrepant role function, a child may lose their capacity for self-direction; their own distinctiveness, under the weight of "psychic incest"; and, if family pressures increase, may end up becoming the

identified patient Identified patient (IP) is a clinical term often heard in family therapy discussion. It describes one family member in a dysfunctional family who expresses the family's authentic inner conflicts. Usually, the "designated patient" expresses their ...

or family scapegoat. Enmeshment was also used by John Bradshaw to describe a state of cross-generational bonding within a family, whereby a child (normally of the opposite sex) becomes a surrogate spouse for their mother or father. The term is sometimes applied to engulfing codependent relationships, where an unhealthy symbiosis is in existence. For the toxically enmeshed child, the adult's carried feelings may be the only ones they know, outweighing and eclipsing their own.Terence Real, ''I Don't Want to Talk About It'' (1997) pp. 206, 360.

References

External links

Enmeshment: Symptoms and Causes
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626002926/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/enmeshment-symptoms-and-causes-125738708.html , date=2012-06-26 Psychological concepts Family therapy Interpersonal communication

See also

References

Further reading

External links