individuation

n. 1. In Jungian theory, the process of selfrealization that accelerates in middle age in which a person attempts to develop and bring to consciousness the unfulfilled aspects of the collective unconscious, unify polarities and conflicts, and develop a unified self, including the appearance and realization of wisdom. 2. In Mahler's object-relations theory, the period between the 18th and 36th months of life in which children begin to function independently of their mother. 3. Any process of becoming an autonomous, individual personality.