ABSTRACT
Since 1987 I have worked with a large number of adults who lost a parent when they were children or adolescents, but suspended the mourning process. This was resumed only after they had entered treatment as adults. The suspension often occurred because the surviving parent could not facilitate or tolerate the child's experience of grief, and no alternate route to mourning, such as therapy, was available. These patients typically entered treatment because their careers and love relationships were stalled and unsatisfying, and they were not consciously aware of any unresolved issues related to the parent's death.
