Working with Abandonment: 26 Top Experts Share the Latest Strategies to Help Clients Heal

Being abandoned hurts. In the moment, it can feel like you can’t breathe and that life is about to end. And then comes the painful sensations that ripple through the body and fill you with paralyzing panic.

When this happens to a client, they can become fearful of ever experiencing abandonment again. Problem is, they can then develop harmful coping strategies that not only create more pain, but put them at even greater risk of being rejected.

So how do we work with the desperate behavior and hyper-reactivity that can make abandonment a self-fulfilling prophecy?

We turned to the world’s 26 top experts to hear how they work with clients who have been abandoned. Here are the latest strategies that you can start using in your work today.

Working with the Pain of Abandonment

How to Work with Clients Who Are Hypersensitive to Rejection

Peter Levine, PhD Ron Siegel, PsyD
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD Melanie Greenberg, PhD

The specific neural pattern that may fuel a fear of abandonment
One way to help clients shift out of a rejection-oriented mindset
How to work with a client’s panic when being rejected

Key Strategies for Working with Abandonment and Trauma

Bessel van der Kolk, MD Peter Levine, PhD
Kelly McGonigal, PhD Resmaa Menakem, MSW, LICSW, SEP
Melanie Greenberg, PhD

How PTSD can lead to powerful brain schemas that invite rejection from others
One practice to help clients with panic disorder regulate their body when triggered by abandonment
How trauma-informed interventions can neutralize reactivity to an experience of rejection

How to Approach Shame That Drives a Fear of Rejection

Dan Siegel, MD

How the ruminating brain can lock clients into ambivalent relationships that invite shame
How to work with clients whose sense of defectiveness fuels a fear of abandonment

How to Work with the Deep and Profound Pain of Abandonment

Stephen Porges, PhD Deb Dana, LCSW

How abandonment can leave a lasting imprint on a client (and what this means for treatment)
Why a client may subconsciously sabotage offers to co-regulate
How to help a client who fears abandonment to better tolerate ruptures in a relationship

How to Recognize Signs Your Client Has a History of Abandonment

Pat Ogden, PhD Bonnie Goldstein, PhD Deb Dana, LCSW

How to recognize possible signs of early life abandonment
The signs that can reveal the ways a client is managing a fear of abandonment

Ways to Change Fearful Behavior That Sets a Client Up for Further Abandonment

Pat Ogden, PhD Melanie Greenberg, PhD Ron Siegel, PsyD
Donald Meichenbaum, PhD Terry Real, MSW, LICSW

Two specific ways a client’s fear of abandonment can become a self-fulfilling prophecy
How to reframe a client’s neediness to make it an ally in their healing
How to help a client stay regulated when their partner rejects their needs

How to Help Clients Stop Sacrificing Their Boundaries to Avoid Being Abandoned

Joan Borysenko, PhD Kelly McGonigal, PhD Ron Siegel, PsyD
Judson Brewer, MD, PhD Melanie Greenberg, PhD Pat Ogden, PhD

The addiction model that leads a client to soften their boundaries (and how to change it)
The painful reason why some clients will gamble away their principles in a relationship
Two practical ways to help clients shore up their personal boundaries

A 3-Step Strategy to Expand a Client’s Tolerance of Rejection

Steven Hayes, PhD Kelly McGonigal, PhD

How to help clients engage their fear of abandonment without getting overwhelmed
How to adjust your treatment of abandonment when the client dissociates
A compassionate strategy to help clients break a paralyzing fear of abandonment

How to Treat A Fear of Abandonment Linked to Betrayal

Shelly Harrell, PhD Richard Schwartz, PhD Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT

One way to reduce the stigma and humiliation a client attaches to their experience of betrayal
The damaging way clients often approach decisions when they fear loss

Here’s What You’ll Get:

Everything is yours to keep forever in your professional library

	Downloadable videos so you can watch at your convenience, on any device
	Audio recordings you can download and listen to at home, in the car, at the gym or wherever you like
	Professionally-formatted transcripts of the sessions, to make review and action simple
	Three downloadable bonus videos to help you work with a client’s pain of abandonment

Starting Today, This Program Can Change the Way You Practice

. . . I feel so fortunate to have this access to brain power, experience and research synthesis . . .

“When I listen to the experts talk openly about their experience, I feel so fortunate to have this access to brain power, experience and research synthesis on cutting edge issues! I go back to the videos to reinforce things that will assist my clients.”

Mary Logan, Counselor
Ipswich, MA

I benefit, my practice benefits, and most important my clients benefit . . .

“I live in Nova Scotia and have limited travel funds at the university at which I work. The series provided by NICABM gives me the rare opportunity to listen to the leaders in the field. As a result, I learn valuable information that would not otherwise be available to me. I benefit, my practice benefits, and most important my clients benefit from the knowledge and wisdom I gain from the series.”

David Mensink, PhD Counseling Psychology, Psychologist
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

. . . some dare to go the extra journey to research and educate

“These NICABM series keep me afloat, in touch, on track, well trained in my field, and more personally healthy. The best aspect, though, is that I feel validated and comforted knowing that some dare to go the extra journey to research and educate, so I can walk the path to health, and can share with others.”

Mary Corsello-Vilcheck, LCSW
Midlothian, VA

Course Director

Ruth Buczynski, PhD

Dr. Ruth Buczynski is a licensed psychologist and founder and president of The National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine (NICABM). NICABM helps physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, and counselors – practitioners who have some of the most significant and life-changing missions on the planet – provide cutting-edge, research-based treatment strategies to their patients. For more than 35 years, NICABM has offered accredited training and professional development programs to thousands of practitioners worldwide.

Why the Transcript Is Essential:

 Click the image to enlarge

The transcript makes it easy to go back and double check concepts, citations and names that are mentioned
We put in a table of contents to make it easy for you to find the exact part of the webinar you need
Having the concepts already written allows you to take notes on how you’re going to use the ideas rather than transcribing the ideas
Some people simply learn better by reading than by listening or watching
You will be able to print out and share techniques presented in the session with your patients

Angela Lawrence

“I really liked being able to follow along with the transcripts as I listened…it was nice not to feel like I had to take notes. I really feel like I remember more when I both hear and see at the same time.”

NICABM – Working With The Pain Of Abandonment

Working with Abandonment: 26 Top Experts Share the Latest Strategies to Help Clients Heal