Estrangement from family, like everything else, takes place against the psychological backdrop of human development.

Far from ending in adulthood, development continues throughout the lifespan, and offers hope for change in any given week, month or year of our lives.

In this interesting episode, Tina takes listeners on a brief tour of the concept of lines of development (see links below for more).

She points out that just because someone is intellectually gifted, that doesn't mean they're emotionally mature or socially aware. And vice versa: We don't have to be intellectual giants to be emotionally aware or socially sensitive.

Lines of development, along with the related theory of multiple intelligences, encourages us to remember ourselves and others as complex human beings. We're not either mature or immature, intelligent or unintelligent. Rather, we fall along a continuum of progress in each area.

For more tips on how to think about an estrangement by your adult child(ren), and what to do to solve the problem, read Tina's book, Reconnecting With Your Estranged Adult Child.

Reconnection Club members can discuss this and every episode in the General Discussion forum inside the Reconnection Club.

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EPISODE LINKS:

Ken Wilber Fundamentals: Developmental Lines Explained

About Integral Theory

Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences