Introduction

In writing about the ‘family life cycle’, Carter and McGoldrick (1989: 17) note that adolescence ‘ushers in a new era because it marks a new defi nition of the children within the family and of the parents’ roles in relation to their children’. For adolescents, the physical changes of puberty require a fundamental change in their sense of self. The emotional preoccupations of being part of a family, give way to a fuller engagement with the wider world – in relation to friends and peers and also to education, and in time, employment. Yet the process of separation and individuation can be painful. Parents too can feel bereft at the ‘loss’ of their child and at a loss as to how to understand and respond to the ‘stranger’ in their midst. But adolescence also provides an opportunity to revisit and rework earlier stages of development, to explore different aspects of the self and to embrace the challenge of new experiences.