Resources

Project News

• “Royal Repair Kit: How Does One Heal a Family Rift?” – article by Anca Ulea in Euronews. https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/01/10/royal-repair-kit-how-does-one-heal-a-family-rift.

• “Connecting With Older Adults Is Good For You and Them” – article by Abigail Fagan in Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/evidence-based-living/202212/connecting-older-adults-is-good-you-and-them.

• “How to Actually Enjoy the Holidays” – article by Hannah Seo, et al. in the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/07/well/mind/holiday-stress.html.

• “Expert Tips for Reaching Out To Estranged Family Members” – article by Alexandria Brooks on Women’s World. https://www.womansworld.com/posts/family/how-to-reach-out-to-estranged-family-members.

• “When the Ties that Bind Are Cut” – article by Tamara Markard in the Greeley Tribune. https://www.greeleytribune.com/2022/06/11/cp/.

• “Estranged From Your Grandchildren? There Might Be Hope” – article by Katherine Skiba on AARP.org. https://www.aarp.org/home-family/friends-family/info-2022/tips-to-reconcile-family-estrangement.html.

• “Families Try Making Up after Pandemic Fights over Vaccines, Masks and Tests” – article by Clare Ansberry in the Walt Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/families-try-making-up-after-pandemic-fights-over-vaccines-masks-and-tests-11645757654.

• “Family Rifts Affect Millions of Americans – Research Shows Possible Paths from Estrangement toward Reconciliation” – article by The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/family-rifts-affect-millions-of-americans-research-shows-possible-paths-from-estrangement-toward-reconciliation-165781.

• “How to Successfully Transfer Wealth” – article by Bank of America Private Bank on their website. https://www.privatebank.bankofamerica.com/articles/how-to-successfully-transfer-wealth.html.

• “Family Estrangement: Why Adults Are Cutting Off Their Parents” – article by Maddy Savage on BBC.com. https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20211201-family-estrangement-why-adults-are-cutting-off-their-parents.

• “One in Four Adults is Estranged from Family and Paying a Psychological Price” – article by Galit Atlas in the Los Angeles Times. https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2021-11-28/1-in-4-adults-is-estranged-from-family-and-paying-a-psychological-price.

• “How to Grieve Estranged Family and Friends During the Holidays” – article by Christina Wyman in the Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2021/11/23/estrangement-family-friends-holidays/.

• “The Family Issue of The Highlight” – article by Vox staff on Vox.com. https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/22785317/family-issue.

• “Family Feuds: When Bonds are Broken” – interview by Susan Spencer on CBS News. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/family-feuds-when-bonds-are-broken/.

• “Fractured Families and How To Mend Them” – podcast from Let's Talk Family Enterprise on Amazon Music. https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1f37bd3d-9263-453f-a7ea-31f302399c98/episodes/b0477601-8d69-4992-8b4b-d26ee45b624b/LETS-TALK-FAMILY-ENTERPRISE22-FRACTURED-FAMILIES-AND-HOW-TO-MEND-THEM.

• “What’s Ripping American Families Apart?” – article by David Brook in the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/opinion/estranged-american-families.html.

• “Helping Grandma and Grandpa Get Back in the Groove” – interview by Sanjay Gupta in the podcast Chasing Life. https://getpodcast.com/podcast/coronavirus-fact-vs-fiction/helping-grandma-and-grandpa-get-back-in-the-groove_51e2a0b495.

• “6 Ways to Mend a Family Rift and Find Connection, Love, and Harmony” – article by Kristina Mastrocola in Women’s World. https://www.womansworld.com/posts/relationships/mend-a-family-rift.

• “How to Reconcile After a Family Rift” – interview by Sharon Walker in the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2021/feb/20/how-to-reconcile-after-a-family-rift.

• “The Depths Of Estrangement: Why Family Rifts Happen And How To Heal” – interview by Robin Young on WBUR. https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/12/24/family-estrangement-holidays.

• “Broken Branches” – article by Beth Saulnier in the Cornell Alumni Magazine. http://cornellalumnimagazine.com/broken-branches.

• “The Causes of Estrangement, and How Families Heal” – article by Paula Spann in the New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/10/well/family/family-estrangement.html.

• “Family Estrangement a Problem ‘Hiding in Plain Sight’” – interview by James Dean in the Cornell Chronicle. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2020/09/pillemer-family-estrangement-problem-hiding-plain-sight.

Other Resources

THERAPY:

• American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists – association of therapists who provide family therapy. https://www.aamft.org/Directories/Find_a_Therapist.aspx.

• Joshua Coleman, PhD – psychologist who counsels and provides trainings specific to estranged family members to help them reconcile. https://www.drjoshuacoleman.com/estrangement.

• Bowen Center for the Study of the Family – organization that offers psychotherapy and “coaching” for estranged family members. https://www.thebowencenter.org/coaching.

CONFLICT MEDIATION:

• Academy of Professional Family Mediators – academy that helps individuals find local professional family mediators. https://apfmnet.org/find-a-mediator.

• Talking Alternatives – organization that provides mediation services and “communication coaching” to estranged family members. https://www.talkingalternatives.net/services.

• National Association for Community Mediation – association that helps connect individuals with local mediation programs. https://www.nafcm.org.

OTHER RESEARCH:

• Agllias, K. (2018). No Longer on Speaking Terms: The Losses Associated with Family Estrangement at the End of Life. Families in Society: The Journal of Contemporary Social Services, 92(1), 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1606/1044-3894.4055.

• Blake, L. & Bland, B. (2020). The Counseling Experiences of Individuals Who Are Estranged from a Family Member. Family Relations, 69(4), 820–831. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12385.

• Bernstein, A. (2007). Re-visioning, Restructuring, and Reconciliation: Clinical Practice with Complex Postdivorce Families. Family Process, 46(1), 67–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00192.x.

• Carr, K., Holman, A., Abetz, J., Kellas, J. K., & Vagnoni, E. (2015). Giving Voice to the Silence of Family Estrangement: Comparing Reasons of Estranged Parents and Adult Children in a Nonmatched Sample. Journal of Family Communication, 15, 130–140. https://doi.org/10.1080/15267431.2015.1013106.

• Conti, R. (2015). Family Estrangement: Establishing a Prevalence Rate. Journal of Psychology and Behavioral Science, 3(2), 28–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.15640/jpbs.v3n2a4.

• Dattilio, F., & Nichols, M. (2011). Reuniting Estranged Family Members: A Cognitive-Behavioral-Systemic Perspective. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 39(2), 88–99. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926187.2010.530169.

• Douglas, D. & Steinberg, B. (2008). Motivational Models for Spontaneous Reunification with the Alienated Child: Part I. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(2), 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180701643131.  

• Douglas, D. & Steinberg, B. (2008). Motivational Models for Spontaneous Reunification with the Alienated Child: Part II. The American Journal of Family Therapy, 36(3), 253–261. https://doi.org/10.1080/01926180701643230.

• Gilligan, M., Suitor, J. J., Pillemer, K. (2022). Patterns and Processes of Intergenerational Estrangement: A Qualitative Study of Mother-Adult Child Relationships Across Time. Research on Aging, 44(5-6), 436-447. https://doi.org/10.1177/01640275211036966

• Gilligan, M., Suitor, J. J., & Pillemer, K. (2015). Estrangement Between Mothers and Adult Children: The Role of Norms and Values. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 77(4), 908–920. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12207.

• Katz, S. (2002). Healing the Father-Son Relationship: A Qualitative Inquiry into Adult Reconciliation. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 42(3), 13–52. https://doi.org/10.1177/00267802042003003.

• Nolte, J., Cope, M., Pillemer, K (2022). What Causes Older Parent-Adult Child Estrangement? A Qualitative Interview Study. Innovation in Aging, 6(Suppl. 1), 631–632. https://doi.org/10.1093/geroni/igac059.2343

• Scharp, K. & Curron, T. (2018). Caregiving When There is Family Conflict and Estrangement. Journal of the American Society on Aging, 40(3), 51–56. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26591703.