Susan Anderson (psychotherapist)

Not to be confused with Susan Andersen or Susan Anderson.
Susan Anderson (psychotherapist)
Born Susan Anderson
2 July 1946
Pensacola, Florida
Residence United States
Nationality United States
Fields Psychotherapy
Alma mater Stony Brook University
Known for Abandonment recovery[1]
Influences Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, John Bowlby, Carl Rogers, Margaret Mahler, Gregory Bateson, Salvador Minuchen

Susan Anderson (born July 2, 1946) is an American writer, psychotherapist and founder of the abandonment recovery movement. She is credited as establishing abandonment as a legitimate form of trauma[2][3][4] and delineating the characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder of abandonment.[5] Her work extends that of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross on death and dying and John Bowlby on attachment and loss,[6][7] and has been influenced by Carl Rogers, Margaret Mahler, Gregory Bateson and Salvador Minuchen.

Early life and education

Susan Anderson was born in Pensacola, Florida and grew up in Pearl River, New York. She has a Masters of Liberal Studies and an MSW from Stony Brook University. Anderson's personal experiences with abandonment and bereavement later led her to research and write about abandonment trauma.[8]

Anderson's post graduate training includes psychoanalytic psychotherapy, bereavement recovery, systemic family therapy, and drug and alcohol addiction.

Theory

Anderson's work conceptualizes abandonment as a legitimate form of trauma.[2][3][9] "The grief of abandonment can create a trauma powerful enough to implant an emotional drain deep within the self that if left unresolved, leeches self esteem and create self sabotage."[10] She delineates the characteristics of post-traumatic stress disorder of abandonment, and describes the five phases of grief specific to abandonment: Shattering, Withdrawal, Internalizing, Rage and Lifting,[11] and introduces a recovery program that targets the underlying primal wound of abandonment.[12][13]

Her recovery framework identifies the 'outer child' to personify the part of the personality that acts out in ways that sabotage our relationships and long range goals.[14][15][16][17] The concept of "Outer Child" serves as a recovery tool targeted to practical mental exercises that work incrementally to overcome self defeating patterns.[18][19]

Anderson asserts that abandonment issues and self sabotage stemming from both childhood and adult losses can be healed,[20][21][22] and has developed a treatment protocol specific to the impact of abandonment trauma.[2][23][24] The protocol comprises a combination of individual and group support methods (including web and social media communities) targeted at processing through the grief of abandonment.[22][25][26][27] Her recovery methods draw on clinical experience and scientific studies related to the neurobiological impact of attachment and separation.[28][29][30][31]

Abandonment Project

Anderson sponsors an abandonment recovery website called "abandonment.net" to provide a mechanism for such a world-wide community. Abandonment survivors can make confidential submissions to an ethnographic (anecdotal) research project.[32]

Career

Anderson spent two decades spent working in psychiatric hospitals, day treatment centers, and drug and alcohol settings, followed by fifteen years working in school systems with children. During that time she gathered anecdotal information on the impact of primal abandonment scenarios ranging from losing a pet or being "new kid on the block" to child abuse or death of a parent, and developed ameliorative programs for parents and children, forming the basis for her abandonment recovery work.

In her book Journey from Abandonment to Healing, Anderson addressed abandonment as a serious emotional issue. She has since focused on methods for overcoming abandonment and its aftermath of self-sabotaging behavior patterns.

She writes for self-help[23][33][34] and professional audiences, and speaks on the subjec of abandonment and its resulting self sabotage. She speaks on the related topics of emotional trauma, addiction, child abuse, parenting, relationship repair, heartbreak recovery, divorce, and bereavement.

Anderson continues in private practice in Manhattan and Long Island, working with the victims of abandonment trauma, grief, and loss.

Personal

Anderson is the mother of two children.

Publications

References

  1. ↑ Lisa Fields Clark. Art Facilitation for Special Needs Populations. Lulu.com. pp. 32–. ISBN 978-0-615-70940-6.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Farrell, Thomas, "Has Susan Anderson Discovered the Big Breakthrough for Self-Help Therapy?"". Open Education News.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Valerie Anne Demming (2008). Women's Reflections on Their Adolescent Self-injury in Relation to Grief and Loss. ProQuest. pp. 2–. ISBN 978-1-109-04849-0.
  4. ↑ Jane Middelton-Moz; Lorie Dwinell (12 August 2010). After the Tears: Helping Adult Children of Alcoholics Heal Their Childhood Trauma. Health Communications, Incorporated. ISBN 978-0-7573-9337-2.
  5. ↑ T. A. Dillon, The Effect of Induced Positive, Negative, and Neutral Mood on Rejection Sensitivity, Thesis, Ball State University, 2012
  6. ↑ Bowlby, Loss, Sadness and Depression in Attachment and Loss, III, New York: Basic Books, 1983
  7. ↑ Jasmin Lee Cori (14 September 2010). The Emotionally Absent Mother: A Guide to Self-Healing and Getting the Love You Missed. The Experiment. pp. 46–. ISBN 978-1-61519-123-9.
  8. ↑ "How I survived Abandonment", Anderson, Huffington Post, February 2, 2015, Feb 9 2015
  9. ↑ Wolf, D (2006). Child abandonment and religious organization: A case study. Peace research abstracts journal (0031-3599), 43 (1)
  10. ↑ C. R. McAdams III, V. A. Foster, K. Dotson-Blake, and J. M. Brendel, "Dysfunctional Family Structures and Aggression in Children: A Case for School-Based, Systemic Approaches with Violent Students," Journal of School Counseling, vol. 7, no. 9 (2009).
  11. ↑ PhD Carolyn Ambler Walter PhD, LCSW; Judith L. M. McCoyd PhD, LCSW, QCSW (23 March 2009). Grief and Loss Across the Lifespan: A Biopsychosocial Perspective. Springer Publishing Company. pp. 85–. ISBN 978-0-8261-2758-7.
  12. ↑ Schindehette, Susan and Bane, Vickie, "Comeback Kid: As an infant, she was found in a brown paper bag by the side of the road", People Magazine, p. 106, July 17, 2006
  13. ↑ Klugman, Lisa, Ed., "I Will Survive," FIT Magazine, p.18, August 2000.
  14. ↑ Seltzer, Leon F. "Evolution of the Self: On the paradoxes of personality, Part 4: Self-Sabotage and Your Outer Child"., January 2011
  15. ↑ Washington Post, Jan 27 2011 Health Scan: Dealing with Drama Queens.
  16. ↑ Rew, Kate, Are you Addicted to Bad Love?, Grazia Magazine, pp.83-4, April 11, 2005.
  17. ↑ Library Journal, Review, Taming Your Outer Child, February 1, 2011
  18. ↑ Washington Post, Jan 25 2011, Personal Psychology: Unruly Behavior of "Outer Child" is Target of Psychotherapist's Self-help Book.
  19. ↑ Weathers, Diane, Growing through Change: The Stages of Healing, Health Quest, p. 14, April 2000
  20. ↑ Paul T. Mason (M.S.); Randi Kreger (January 2010). Stop Walking on Eggshells: Taking Your Life Back when Someone You Care about Has Borderline Personality Disorder. New Harbinger Publications. ISBN 978-1-57224-690-4.
  21. ↑ Randi Kreger (21 August 2013). The Essential Family Guide to Borderline Personality Disorder: New Tools and Techniques to Stop Walking on Eggshells. Hazelden. ISBN 978-1-59285-783-8.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Fernandez Self, Editor of Reviews, Review: Journey from Abandonment to Healing, Counseling Today, December 2000, p 29
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 Monroe, Valerie, "Why do I still feel so awful?", Oprah Magazine, p. 196, June 2001.
  24. ↑ "Broken Heart Syndrome"., CBS EARLY SHOW: Susan Anderson interview
  25. ↑ Arend, Tricia, Overcome Abandonment: Workshop to help victims of loss, The Long Islander, Feb 21 2008
  26. ↑ Review: Journey from Abandonment to Healing, North Shore Woman’s Newspaper, May 2000
  27. ↑ "Interview with Susan Anderson"., January 2011 Abundant Yogi, May 2013
  28. ↑ Panksepp, Jaak, Eric Nelson, and Marni Bekkedal. Brain Systems for the Mediation of Separation Distress and Social Reward. Annals N. Y. Academy of Sciences 807 (1997) 78-100.
  29. ↑ Sapolsky, Robert M. Social Subordinance as a Marker of Hypercortisolism, Social Subordinance, Annals of New York Academy of Sciences, pp. 626-638. LeDoux, Joseph. The Synaptic Self. Viking, 2002.
  30. ↑ T. A. Dillon, The Effect of Induced Positive, Negative, and Neutral Mood on Rejection Sensitivity, Master's Thesis, Ball State University, 2012.
  31. ↑ Beyond50Radio BROADCAST July 1, 2010 9:00 AM Pacific Time: Journey from Abandonment to Healing.
  32. ↑ "How to Keep Abandonment from Sabotaging Your Life". New York Open Center
  33. ↑ Geiger, Debbe, Great Rewards to Give Yourself, Parents and Children, p. 20, December 2006
  34. ↑ Geiger, Debbe, Ideas to Present Yourself, Parents and Children, p. 16, January 2003

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