Healing from Parental Abandonment: Overcome Insecure Attachment and Self-Blame to Build Safety, Connection, and Trust with Yourself and Those You Love

A powerful approach to heal from abandonment trauma, break free from self-blame and shame, and rebuild trust--with yourself and the ones you love.

Do you blame yourself for being abandoned or neglected as a child, or suffer from poor self-esteem, anxiety, or depression as a result? Do you have deep feelings of shame, defectiveness, and insecurity that impact your life and relationships? If so, you are not alone. These are common experiences for survivors of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). But what happened to you as a child or young adult isn’t your fault. By understanding how you were affected, you can start on the path to healing and personal growth.

From family trauma expert and abandonment survivor Kaytee Gillis, Healing from Parental Abandonment offers a powerful, evidence-based approach that draws on acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), dialectical behavior therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and compassion-focused therapy (CFT) to help you develop a thorough understanding of what abandonment is and how it may have shaped who you are today.

You’ll also learn skills to help you work through self-blame and shame, replace unhealthy behaviors with positive coping skills, form healthy boundaries, and reconnect with your true self. And finally, you’ll find exercises and activities to help you put what you’ve learned into action--so you can make lasting positive change.

What happened in your past doesn’t have to define your future. If you’re ready to heal the invisible wounds of your childhood, this compassionate guide can help you get started today.

Kaytlyn ＂Kaytee＂ Gillis, LCSW-BACS, is a psychotherapist, author, consultant, and expert in family trauma. She specializes in working with survivors of family and relationship trauma, psychological abuse, and C-PTSD. She has published several books on the topic of relational trauma and psychological abuse including Breaking the Cycle: The 6 Stages of Healing from Childhood Family Trauma; It’s Not High Conflict, It’s Post-Separation Abuse, and Invisible Bruises, and has a regular column called Invisible Bruises on Psychology Today.