Episode
Episode 67 | Going Low Contact & No Contact with Caregivers: A Trauma-Informed Clinical Framework for Navigating Estrangement
- Podcast
- The Affirming Minds Podcast
- Published
- Feb 17, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 4558
- Processing state
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Summary
Course Information: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHBhSxa9gU/RwQ9m-fExyl2E3Wn0felXA/view?utm_content=DAHBhSxa9gU&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=uniquelinks&utlId=hbd367d8551 --- Episode Summary: Family estrangement is often portrayed as impulsive, trendy, or selfish. In reality, navigating low contact or no contact with a parent is typically a painful decision — one that is rarely made lightly and almost never without history. As public debate around estrangement has intensified — including criticism directed at therapists — this episode asks an essential question: What is our clinical role in this conversation? Host Shaina Siber, LCSW offers a trauma-informed, ethically grounded framework for clinicians working with adult clients who are considering distance from caregivers. She argues that therapy should not treat reconciliation as morally superior — nor estrangement as inherently empowered. Instead, clinicians are called to remain outcome-neutral and harm-responsive . This episode provides: A structured assessment model for evaluating impact, boundary history, accountability capacity, and safety Clarification of what “boundaries” actually mean — and how they differ from requests or impact statements Guidance for navigating trauma history, identity-based rejection, and developmental instability A clear stance on avoiding coercion while naming harm when present Estrangement decisions are complex, relational, and often grief-filled. This conversation offers therapists a grounded framework for helping clients move through these waters with clarity, agency, and care. --- About Shaina: Shaina Siber-Sanderowitz, LCSW is a licensed clinical social worker with 15 years of experience providing psychotherapy to div…