What was your experience growing up like? Overall, was it positive (eg, a nurturing environment), neutral, or negative (including trauma, abuse, and neglect)?

Are family members enmeshed, detached, or connected?

Do power imbalances exist in the family in which you grew up? Indicate any unusual family structures, events, or patterns (eg, deaths, illnesses, absent family members, migrations).

When did you see yourself as autonomous, having a good sense of self, individuality, a belief system, and freedom to make life decisions? Was this process easy or hard, and how did it come about?

As a result of such independence, what sort of life path and goals have you chosen so far for yourself (eg, in career or vocational choice; in friends, life partners, and other relationships with relatives; in ministry or service for your faith, if you have a religious or spiritual orientation)?

How did your culture or environment affect the development of this phase?

If you feel that you have not achieved an independent state, what do you think are the contributing factors or obstacles? Do you have some ideas about how these could be overcome?

At this point in your life, do you feel that you have achieved a healthy interdependent state as you relate to others? What do you think are some of the key ingredients of healthy relationships with others?

What kind of difficulties, if any, have you encountered in moving toward this life phase?

Would you like to maintain this balance between isolated individualism and total collectivism (interdependent state) in the future? If so, how will you do it?