Bowen describes 'emotional cutoff' as the way people manage the intensity of fusion between the generations.

A 'cutoff' can be achieved through physical distance or through forms of emotional withdrawal.  Bowen distinguishes between 'breaking away' from the family and 'growing away' from the family.

'Growing away' is viewed as part of differentiation - adult family members follow independent goals while also recognising that they are part of their family system.

A 'cutoff' is more like an escape; people 'decide' to be completely different to their family of origin.  While immediate pressure might be relieved by cutoff, patterns of reactivity in intense relationships remain unchanged and versions of the past, or its mirror image, are repeated.  Bowen proposes that: If one does not see himself as part of the system, his only options are either to get others to change or to withdraw.  If one sees himself as part of the system, he has a new option: to stay in contact with others and change self (Kerr and Bowen, 1988: 272-273).

'Cutoffs' are not always dramatic rifts.

An example of a covert emotional cutoff would be one family member maintaining an anxious silence in the face of another's anger.  The pull to restore harmony overwhelms the ability to stay in contact with the issue that has been raised.

A central hypothesis of Bowen's theory is that the more people maintain emotional contact with the previous generation, the less reactive they will be in current relationships.

Conversely, when there are emotional cutoffs, the current family group can experience intense emotional pressure without effective escape valves.  This family tension is like 'walking on eggshells', as issues which remain unresolved from the cutoff are carefully avoided.

Triangling provides a detour, as family members enlist the support of others for their own position in relation to the cutoff.