Integrative Individuation: An Alternative To The Separation-Individuation Model

Abstract

An alternative to Mahler’s separation-individuation model of child development is presented to explain differences in the development and experience of a sense of self in Indian culture and other cultures where the Western sense of individual selfhood is not seen as the goal of maturity and adulthood. In the absence of such a formulation, called here integrative individuation, the familial and relational experience of people from non-Western cultures is often misunderstood and pathologized by clinicians. Features of this non-Western sense of self include looser boundaries, different relational priorities, and greater tolerance regarding personal space. Though these differences have been commented on by scholars, a detailed developmental model has not previously been formulated.