My latest book:

Mother Load
A Story of Birth and Rebirth

Mother Load is the story of Pamela, a young woman who suffered emotional neglect in her relationship with her adoptive mother.  Her therapist, Lily, supports Pamela as she works to overcome the aftereffects of her upbringing. Pamela eventually finds love―with the help of her long-lost family.

Pamela and Lily's lives become entwined in ways neither could have ever foreseen.  Their separate journeys transform through their work together.

Sell Sheet - Image Sell Sheet - Print

My first book:

Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors
Living Past Neglect

Living in the past can create our futures. Yet, how do young people step out of their histories of neglect? How do they hope to feel loved if they never experienced the love they needed in their families of origin? How do they combat the damage to trust? How do they learn to stop the self-blame over circumstances, to move past the past, and embrace a new future?

These questions are answered in Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors: Living Past Neglect, in the hope that other people will benefit from my clients' experiences with healing. First, I have asked them to describe what their lives were like prior to therapy, and the tasks they challenged themselves to complete in their first years of treatment. I have asked them to describe living with the aftereffects of neglectful childhoods. Second, I have asked them to describe their processes of healing and recovery. What worked for them, and why?

Guided Imagery


Therapeutic Tools for Adult Survivors of Neglect

The most important initial undertaking in guided imagery is to help you find a safe space. When you start this process, there is no need to become perfectly relaxed. This is a skill that is developed over time. If your mind wanders away from the visualization, that’s fine. It’s like falling asleep during a massage; your body still benefits from the healing touch.
The following exercises have been used with neglect survivors. They originally appeared in a wonderful book entitled "Mother Wit: A Feminist Guide to Psychic Development" (1981) by Diane Mariechild.
Preview each visualization below, and then download the one(s) you like as an mp3 file for free.
  • Safe Space
    Visualization


    Download
  • Hot Air Balloon
    Visualization


    Download
  • Shedding the Cloak of
    Negativity Visualization


    Download
  • Theater
    Visualization


    Download
  • Wise Old Woman
    Visualization


    Download

Mother Load - Sample Chapter 1

Click on the L/R corners to turn the pages.  For a larger book, click here

Living Past Neglect - Sample Chapter 1

Click on the L/R corners to turn the pages.  For a larger book, click here

Purchase Books



Mother Load



$17.95

  • Fiction
  • Released - November 20, 2023
  • Paperback
  • Available on Amazon
BUY NOW

Mother Load



$17.95

  • Fiction
  • Released - November 20, 2023
  • Paperback
  • Available at Barnes & Noble
BUY NOW

Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors: Living Past Neglect

$85.73

  • Nonfiction
  • Released - April 26, 2012
  • Hardcover
  • Available on Amazon
BUY NOW

Mother Load



$17.95

  • Fiction
  • Released - November 20, 2023
  • Paperback
  • Available at Boulder Book Store
BUY NOW

Mother Load



$17.95

  • Fiction
  • Released - November 20, 2023
  • Paperback
  • Available at A Room of One's Own
BUY NOW

Mother Load



$17.95

  • Fiction
  • Released - November 20, 2023
  • Paperback
  • Available at Giovanni's Room
BUY NOW





Author Bio






The Author

Lori Bennett

(She/Her)

Lori Bennett, LCSW has been a clinician in private practice for over 35 years.  Her expertise is in the areas of bereavement and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Throughout her career, she has worked primarily with women with histories of abuse, trauma, and neglect.  For more information, please contact Lori Bennett at Boulder Therapy For Women.

Her nonfiction book, Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors: Living Past Neglect, was published in 2012.  Mother Load is Lori Bennett’s first work of fiction.




Mother Load - Endorsements

KAREN BERNSTEIN

Producer/Director
www.bernsteindocumentary.com

"Lori Bennett's first novel, Mother Load, is a wonderful display of the intricate structure we sometimes call 'family'―which is and will always be an act of invention, it seems. Mother Load traverses time and character with a strong autobiographical point of view and provides hope for healing past traumas."

MARA BERGMAN

Poet and Children's Writer
www.marabergman.com

"Mother Load is a riveting and thought-provoking story of a dedicated and highly respected psychotherapist whose life is transformed when she takes on a new client. From the start, they both feel a huge connection but cannot possibly know how inextricably linked their lives actually are."

CANDICE FINN, LPC

Licensed Professional Counselor
www.longmontwomenstherapy.com

"Scintillating...I feel like I know these people!"









Living Past Neglect - Endorsements

Jasmin Lee Cori, author of "The Emotionally Absent Mother (2010) and Healing from Trauma (2008)"

"This sensitive portrayal of childhood neglect will be valuable to therapists, especially those who have not been trained in insight-oriented or dynamic psychotherapies. It shows how neglect, in addition to its own long-term impacts, sets the stage for active victimization of children. An experienced clinician, Bennett offers guidance for working compassionately with both neglect and abuse survivors."

Karyl McBride, author of "Will I Ever be Good Enough?: Healing the Daughters of Narcissistic Mothers"

"It is common to internalize how we were parented and parent ourselves respectively. A neglectful background brings repetition in neglect of self. The feeling of being invisible with unmet needs that are also undefined brings forth a calling for Bennett’s work and excellent grasp of the dynamics and devastating effects of childhood neglect. Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors is a must read for clinicians who work with trauma and for clients who seek and deserve validation. Lori Bennett’s work restores faith in trauma resolution. Neglect bears neglect unless recognized and treated."

Cinta Porter, LCSW, Former Clinical Consultant, University of Maryland Medical Systems

"Survivors of neglect, therapists, clinical supervisors, teachers, and students will find Dynamic Psychotherapy with Adult Survivors to be an important addition to their comprehension of this little-studied, yet crucial psychodynamic issue. Lori Bennett’s book will enhance the ability of therapists and clients to gain insight and understanding of the impact that this subtle, insidious epidemic of neglect has had in their lives. The powerful stories presented here will help all of us learn to stop the self blame over circumstances, to move past the past, and embrace a new future."





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