title: Intrusiveness and closeness-caregiving: rethinking the concept of family "Enmeshment".
abstract: This article analyzes the concepts of "enmeshment" and "cohesion" and their entanglement in the field of family therapy. Early theories in this area were concerned primarily with processes of self/other differentiation. More recent theories have favored spatial metaphors that emphasize closeness-distance. We contend that self/ other differentiation and closeness-distance are different classes of behavior and that their linkage in the literature has obscured useful distinctions. Our analysis reveals two separate dimensions that clinicians and researchers should consider: Intrusiveness (including coercive control, separation anxiety, possessiveness/jealousy, emotional reactivity, and projective mystification); and Closeness-Caregiving (including warmth, time together, nurturance, physical intimacy, and consistency). We give definitions of these constructs and briefly examine their clinical and gender-related implications.
authors.affiliation: California School of Professional Psychology, Alameda CA 94501, USA.
authors.forename: R J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Green
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Werner
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect; D001010:Anxiety, Separation; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005196:Family Therapy; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors