Author, psychotherapist, researcher, presenter, and group facilitator Susan Anderson has over 25 years of clinical and research experience working with victims of abandonment trauma, heartbreak, and loss. She describes abandonment as our “primal fear” and “universal to the human experience.”
In one of her books, “The Journey from Abandonment to Healing,” Susan begins by outlining a wide range of human experiences that often lead to symptoms that interfere with healthy self and relational functioning. Examples of abandonment experiences include childhood losses, such as a mother or father leaving their children, divorce, a child who feels replaced when a new sibling arrives in his or her life, feelings of restlessness due to physical or emotional neglect, a death in the family, etc. Adolescents may feel consistently rejected by others, deserted by a good friend, come to terms with their sexual orientation and become apprehensive about peer or parental reactions, or feel that one’s heart is actually broken. Adults might experience intense feelings of devastation when a relationship ends, when there is a serious illness that restricts or confines them, or if a career that provided professional identity, financial security, and acceptable status is ended. These are just a few descriptions of events that create feelings of abandonment. As stated by Susan, “Its wound is at the heart of human experience.”

Susan Anderson determined that one of the most effective ways to break self-sabotaging patterns by those who have experienced abandonment is by joining abandonment support groups. It is easy to believe that you are the only person who has struggled with feelings of unworthiness, but the truth is, you’re NOT alone. In order to break unfulfilling cycles of functioning, you need to gain insight, motivation, and personal integrity. Abandonment support groups promote positive peer pressure, inspire insight, raise self-esteem, and make a critical difference in your recovery. Check out her website at www.abandonment.net to see if there are any support groups in your area. In Dallas, TX, Dr. Denise Humphrey is currently facilitating an abandonment recovery support group, and will be initiating a second group in January, 2008.