ABSTRACT
I have spoken of disembedding as a stage and a task in the development of the adolescent, but in reality it is a stage and a task of the entire family field. We may be presented initially with an individual child who has concerns, complaints, symptoms, or troublesome behavior but it is imperative to look beyond this child and assess the evolving contact boundary, or boundaries, within the family field . In the process of adolescent disembedding, everyone is changed, parent as well as child. As the family field is reorganized, both parent and child will acquire new contact skills for the relationship. Along the way, parents are likely to confront much of their own unfinished business related to themes of dependency, loss, control, confirmation, autonomy, and authority. When adolescence has finally passed, they will be different people. And as will be true of their post adolescent child, their capacity for contact is likely to be broader and deeper in some significant way.
