Lisa Firestone, The Self Under Siege: A Therapeutic Model For Differentiation Quotes

People must come to the understanding that they do not have a fixed identity. They have the power to identify and alter features of their personalities that they find negative or unpleasant.

It is a full-time job to cope with alien elements from both interpersonal sources and societal influences.

To the extent that we retain the critical attitudes and destructive elements we have incorporated into our own personalities, we remain undifferentiated from our parents throughout our lifetime.

They implicitly trust that their thoughts, beliefs, and feelings are their own, and fail to recognize that they may be “channeling” someone else’s thoughts and feelings.

In order for people to live their own lives and fulfill their destiny, they must differentiate themselves from destructive environmental influences.

Differentiation is a universal struggle that all human beings face if they wish to fully develop themselves as individuals.