Parents or grandparents who are harshly cut out of their children's lives experience a painful, unresolved loss often described as "ambiguous loss.
This term refers to the ongoing trauma, grief, or mourning people endure when they have experienced an open-ended loss (Boss, 1990). Those facing alienation are grappling with an open-ended loss, which is more challenging than mourning a death. With death, the absence is final, recognized by the mourner. In the ambiguous loss, the prospect of reconnection remains a reality.
The intense panic and emotional pain felt by the targeted parent are real, fueled by the lingering hope that things may change someday.
The grieving never ceases unless they are reunited with their children.
Fantasies of reunion persist, and the targeted parent believes that expressing their love and missing their child might bring them back. however, this rarely works. Instead, the targeted parent becomes increasingly frustrated as their wishes go unfulfilled.
They may fall into depression, drained by their unsuccessful attempts at reconnection. Without the certainty of reconnection with your child, the absent child remains emotionally present.
As a targeted parent, you may feel stuck in limbo, unsure whether the separation is permanent or temporary. This state of uncertainty prevents you from fully accepting the loss and moving forward with your life.
Dr. Sue created this webinar specifically for targeted parents like you:
When a family breaks up through divorce or parental alienation, it is very difficult for any parent to believe in the permanence of the situation.
It can be incredibly challenging for any parent to accept the permanence of the situation. In the case of ambiguous loss, targeted parents keep their children emotionally alive within their minds despite the absence of a physical connection. At times, it can feel like emotional torture.
In this webinar you will learn:
How to manage your grief.
How to let go of control.
Techniques to reduce both internal and external conflicts of your loss.
How to provide yourself with compassion techniques to reduce your stress.
Dr. Sue Cornbluth is a certified parenting expert, author, coach, and thought leader with international recognition, specializing in high conflict divorce and parental/grandparent alienation situations. In 2013 Dr. Sue established Dr. Sue & You LLC, a consulting firm working with parents to help them successfully move through their high...