Counselling Directory — 8 May 2025
“When your adult child cuts contact: Grief, boundaries & healing”
UK therapist Sarah Hopton writes directly for parents whose adult children have cut contact.
The article looks at the experience of estrangement as a form of ongoing or ambiguous grief, and discusses shame, confusion, boundaries, self-respect and the difficulty of balancing hope for reconciliation with the need to continue living your own life.
Why we’ve included it:
This is a practical UK-focused piece written specifically for estranged parents. It acknowledges parental pain while also encouraging reflection on boundaries and on the difference between hoping for reconciliation and becoming trapped by it.
Read the article
Inclusion in our library means we believe this item may be useful or thought-provoking. It does not mean Estranged Parents endorses every opinion or conclusion expressed.
Estranged Parents
Free, confidential peer support for UK parents estranged from their adult children.