Search

Background: Stand Alone is a charity operating in the United Kingdom that supports adults who are estranged from a family member. The charity recognises that those who experience estrangement from a family member experience sadness, anger and a sense of loss. Due to stigma, they rarely disclose their experiences of estrangement to others. Objective: To assess the efficacy of a six-session facilitated support group intervention for individuals experiencing family estrangement in reducing psychological distress. Methods: Attendees (N = 263) completed the CORE-10 questionnaire assessing psychological distress at registration and at completion of the groups. They also completed a brief survey at each time-point, including an open-ended question about how they felt the support groups had impacted their wellbeing (N = 51). Results: Attendees experienced a statistically significant reduction in psychological distress, with average scores of distress falling from moderate levels of distress to mild. After attending the groups, attendees felt less alone and less ashamed. Conclusion: Six-week facilitated support groups are an effective way of reducing psychological distress for individuals experiencing estrangement from a family member, helping attendees feel less alone and ashamed. Practice implications: Through facilitated support group intervention, it is possible to reduce the psychological distress of those individuals experiencing family estrangement.

Acquiring statutory funding to study in Higher Education brings complex difficulties for UK students under the age of 25 who are estranged from their family, but have not been part of the care system. This paper explores the experiences of 564 estranged students and their experiences of providing evidence of family estrangement in order to access statutory student financial support. It finds that those who disclosed their family estrangement to a professional found it easier to access statutory student finance. However, the stigma around family estrangement was a barrier to disclosure as participants felt shame and humiliation when approaching a professional to support their application. These difficulties led to substantial delays in receiving statutory finance for estranged students which subsequently had an impact on their retention and equitable student experience at the beginning of the academic year. The paper concludes with key recommendations for improvements to the process of proving family estrangement. It will question the parental means-testing system itself, outlining key disadvantages for students experiencing family disruption.

Objective: For the first time, this study explored the counseling experiences of individuals estranged from a family member and the ways in which therapy was helpful, unhelpful, or both. Background: Family relationships are often assumed to be permanent. However, family members both can and do become estranged from one another, which can be a challenging experience, leading to feelings of sadness and loss and experiences or perceptions of stigma. Method: Findings are presented from an online survey of individuals who are estranged from one or more family members and had sought support from the charity Stand Alone. Open-text responses were thematically analyzed from 209 respondents, 133 of whom elaborated on counseling experiences that had been helpful and 107 of whom described counseling experiences that had been unhelpful. Results: Helpful encounters with therapy were those in which respondents felt supported to make their own decisions about their family relationships, developed insight and understanding through working with professionals who were knowledgeable about estrangement, and moved forward in their lives. Conclusion: Therapy that is delivered by professionals who offer nondirective support (rather than suggesting that clients act or feel a certain way) and who are knowledgeable about estrangement will be of the greatest help and utility to individuals estranged from a family member. Implications: Commissioning bodies who offer support to estranged individuals need to ensure that counselors are knowledgeable about estrangement and that training on this issue is included in ongoing career professional development.

Finding, funding and fitting into student accommodation brings multiple and complex challenges for young people who are estranged from their family and cannot depend on their parents for emotional, material or financial support during their time in higher education. This paper draws on the experiences of 564 estranged students in UK higher education, aged 18-25, who have broken communicative contact with their biological or adoptive parents, and who are not recognised as vulnerable by their local authority. It finds that a proportion of estranged students struggle with homelessness issues throughout the student lifecycle. Furthermore, it finds typical student accommodation can be financially out of reach, exacerbated by expectations for students to go home during the summer break. Together these factors push estranged students into a life that is often detached from the institutional community and their peers. Of particular concern is that such factors inhibit a focus on academic studies, with an impact on retention and student success. The paper concludes by outlining how key interventions from higher education providers and government departments can maximise student success for estranged students, in order to inform policy and practice for those who lack family capital and the support of corporate parenting structures.

Relationships between siblings have been described as the longest lasting an individual can have, yet siblings both can and do become estranged from one another in adulthood. An online survey was disseminated to individuals who had sought support from the charity Stand Alone, which supports individuals who are experiencing family estrangement. Individuals estranged from one full genetic sister and/or brother were asked to describe the relationship in their own words. Open-text responses were thematically analysed from 291 respondents. Family systems were described as being characterised by estrangements, alliances and conflicts; there was variation in the participant’s preferences regarding reconciliation; and most respondents focused on describing their sibling’s challenging or disappointing characteristics and behaviour. The fact that siblings both can and do become estranged challenges commonly held assumptions about family relationships, confirming that they are not necessarily or always life-long, significant or supportive.