Estranged-Parent Support Groups can Do More Harm than Good
Proceed with caution and think about what your goals are before selling your soul to the devil
When I first became estranged from my daughter 9 years ago, I was not thinking about support groups. I had no idea there was such a thing for estranged parents. I went to the library and read the one or two books I could find, but after that, I was pretty much on my own. It was a lonely place to be.
When I first wrote my story about my daughter’s estrangement, I was doing it as a catharsis. When we write about something, it changes our relationship to it, and it was part of my healing journey to be vulnerable and share my experience. I didn’t know if anyone would read it. I thought I might be shouting into the void.
I was surprised at what happened next. Suddenly, people dealing with the same issue came out of the woodwork.
Because my eyes were opened to the vast numbers of parents in the same boat, I began to dip into the world of online support for parents of estranged children. I was curious what others were saying about this topic. Based on the many, many responses to my stories, I was beginning to see that this is an emotionally charged topic that incites anger, defensiveness and shame. Everyone has their own…
