Abandonment Recovery Program - Complete Instructions
Turn the pain of an ending into the beginning of yourself.
Akēru 1–5 is the complete set of five hands-on exercises that guide you through every stage of abandonment's grief, from the first shattering moment to the lifting into new life.
Five exercises.
Five stages.
One path to healing.
What's InsideEach Akēru exercise is matched to a specific stage of abandonment, called S.W.I.R.L. Together, they act like physical therapy for the brain, working incrementally to transform loss into growth.
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A mindfulness-based practice for surviving the acute shock of loss — managing panic, grief, and overwhelming anxiety one present moment at a time.
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Uses your imagination to redirect thwarted attachment energy into a powerful new caring connection — to yourself. Rather than longing for what was lost, you learn to become your own source of love and security.
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Strengthen and enhance your new relationship with yourself. Using internalizing's inbound energy, this guided visualization focuses your imagination on goals, dreams, and ideals, laying the foundation for a new self through the four cornerstones.
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A framework for identifying and overcoming the self-sabotaging part of you — the one who breaks the diet, chases the unavailable, and derails your own goals.
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A five-point action plan for realizing your ultimate goals, expanding your capacity for love and making a genuine new connection with life.
The tools to stop abandonment from defining you.
What You'll LearnThese exercises were developed by Susan Anderson over decades of clinical work with people in the deepest pain of their lives.
Susan Anderson, Founder
Abandonment Recovery Inc.
You'll learn a concrete technique for grounding yourself in the current moment so that panic and grief don't consume you, and each day becomes liveable, even in the acute stages of loss.
01. How to stay present through unbearable pain
Transform the energy you once directed toward another person into a powerful new caring connection — with yourself. You stop waiting to be loved and learn to become your own secure base.
02. How to redirect thwarted attachment energy into self-love
Harness internalizing's naturally inward energy to focus on goals, dreams, and ideals. Through guided visualization, you lay a foundation for a new self, built on the four cornerstones Susan calls the principles of lasting change.
03. How to use imagination to rebuild your inner core
You'll learn to recognize your Outer Child — the part that acts out your unresolved pain — and develop the tools to override self-defeating patterns before they ruin relationships, goals, and growth.
04. How to stop self-sabotage in its tracks
05. How to build toward real love and real life
Through Future Self and the Five Point Action Plan, you'll create a concrete roadmap for the life and relationships you actually want — not just wish for.
Whether you’re experiencing a recent break-up, a lingering childhood wound, or struggling to form a lasting relationship, the program will enlighten you, restore your sense of self, and increase your capacity for love and connection.
From People Who've Been Where You AreMargaret
I beneffited enormously from engaging with the programme. It also confirmed for me that I am on the right track, tp put my inner child full centre and also to stay engaged in the present moment. I now have a dream house to work towards and feel up to the programme. Following your programme has already helped me and I can come back to it time and time again for reaffirmation. One thing to add, the poem 'I carry your heart with me' by EE Cummings and also a useful companion on our healing journeys. Thank you Susan for providing such a well thought our programme, I am deeply appreciatve.
Kimberlie
Susan, It was wonderful. I love how the abandonment persona is broken down into three types of personalities. It really has it so I feel I have more control over it verses it having total control over me. It would be wonderful to have a seminar series over several months in order to help implement the knowledge you provided in everyone’s day to day life. Yes in person workshops are very valuable. Life has a way of grabbing us back in to its unwanted merry go round. Thank you for this huge distinction. -Kimberlie from Virginia
I have been doing about anything to try to move toward and feel better. And as soon as I found your job I felt a shift in my healing journey. I found your job with us extremely healing. So so healing. Thank you
Alessa
Fantastic program! I am so grateful to have come across Susan Anderson when scrolling YouTube videos around abandonment and healing. Purchasing Akēru was a game changer. I feel like I’m getting to the roots of things within me. The understanding along with the doing of exercises included has been a pivotal investment into myself. Highly recommend!
Bianca
FAQs
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
