Key points

Cutoffs gained traction in the 1980s through addiction-recovery movements.

More recently, it appears to me that younger therapists are more likely to prescribe cutoffs to their clients.

Some relationships are irreparable and cutoffs can be necessary for emotional—and sometimes physical—survival.

Reconnection doesn’t erase the past, but it can offer a meaningful closing chapter.

On occasion, I will get a client whose relationship with one or both of their parents has been so wounding that they are considering cutting off all contact with them. They want my advice. What I tell them is that it depends on a few things.

Portrait of my mother and myself Source: Wayne Hollowell Artwork Used with Permission

The idea of cutting off ties with one’s family emerged in the 1980s,

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