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In this comprehensive book, Melvin compassionately explores the painful reality of being estranged from family members in contemporary society. He offers his personal insights on navigating family estrangement as well as his professional views and expertise derived from his experience as a psychotherapist working in the field of family estrangement.
In his book, Melvin portrays estrangement as fundamentally a relationship phenomenon, defined as an act of consciously putting distance (emotional and/or physical) between one or more family members, with a conscious effort to enforce it. Melvin outlines both the emotional and physical types of estrangement in the book as well as the prevalence of family estrangement in modern society. He provides an overview of what he has discovered about the topic, his learning about how families become estranged and highlights how diverse estrangements can be, both in their causes and consequences.
In the introductory chapters, Melvin describes the conscious acts of distancing from family members and what sets these acts apart from other types of separations or relational processes. Perhaps this sets the scene for a book that is predominantly focused on exploring the more conscious aspects of the challenges complex family relationships pose, and the resulting relational void associated with family estrangement.
Melvin cites studies suggesting approximately 1 in 4 estranged people seek clinical help and highlights how, despite this, there appears to be only a small number of training programmes for professionals who work with adults or families who are experiencing estrangement. By reviewing and summarising the research, Melvin makes a valuable contribution towards addressing the lack of awareness of this topic and the potential long-term psychological consequences for individuals who have experienced damaging behaviours within a family, including mental health issues, emotional distress and trauma. Moreover, by combining research fin