The Impact of Childhood Separation: Parallels Between Children of Parents with Mental Illness and Children of Incarcerated Parents

• By: Cheri A. Bragg Acker, BA, MSW Paul Acker Chyrell D. Bellamy, PhD, MSW Yale School of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry
• July 18th, 2025
• child welfare, childhood trauma, family separation, foster care, grief, parental incarceration, parental mental illness, Summer 2025 Issue, systemic bias, trauma-informed care
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Family separation is a traumatic experience for children, regardless of the cause. When separation occurs due to parental mental illness or incarceration, children face unique psychological and systemic challenges that are often overlooked. Both groups experience disenfranchised grief, attachment...