Akeru is a Japanese word that means “to pierce, to end, to begin.” Akeru is the name I’ve given to the five hands-on exercises of the Abandonment Recovery Program.

The exercises act like physical therapy of the brain, working incrementally to turn the pain of an ending into the beginning of positive change.

Akeru works with the natural flow of life process, enabling the individual to restore a sense of self, increase life, and find new love. You recognize abandonment as rebirth.

Akeru promotes growth through powerful new self-awareness tools such as Outer Child, SWIRL, Abandoholism, Abandoner Profile and more, that empower you to create a healthy new relationship with yourself and move your life forward.

Not at all. While the program deeply supports those in the acute pain of a recent loss or rejection, the Akēru exercises address abandonment wounds that often originate in childhood that silently shape your relationships, self-worth, and patterns for decades. You can benefit whether you're in crisis or simply seeking deeper self-understanding and growth.

Akēru 1–5 is delivered as downloadable video files. Susan guides you step-by-step through each exercise in full detail, so you can work through them at your own pace, as many times as you need. Make sure you have sufficient storage space on your device before downloading.

Yes. Each of the five Akēru exercises is available individually. However, we recommend the complete Akēru 1–5 bundle because the exercises build on each other, and working through all five stages gives you the full arc of the healing process.

The five video exercises total around 5 hours of guided instruction. But abandonment recovery is a practice, instead of something you watch once and finish. We recommend returning to the exercises regularly for at least three months before you start feeling profound change.

The Akēru program is a powerful self-guided tool and a meaningful complement to therapy. Many therapists use it directly with clients. It is not a replacement for professional mental health support, but it gives you concrete, evidence-informed exercises you can practice independently between sessions or entirely on your own.

While the downloadable akēru 1–5 contains all the exercises done in Susan's live workshops, the latter offers sharing and group support that happens in the room. That communal experience is itself part of the healing process, because being witnessed by others and hearing their stories actively reduces shame. If you can attend a workshop, we encourage it. These videos are a powerful alternative when you can't, and a meaningful way to continue the practice after you do.

The books and these exercises work best together. The books give you the framework and understanding; the videos give you Susan's guiding voice walking you through each exercise step by step. That guidance makes a real difference, especially if you haven't attended a workshop before and are doing the exercises on your own for the first time.