Chapter 18 - THE THERAPIST CELESTE WANTED TO REPLACE
Celeste had contacted another child-development consultant.
Dr. Priya Sanderson.
Qualified.
Licensed.
No conspiracy.
Celeste asked:
“Can too much focus on a deceased parent prevent attachment to a stepparent?”
Dr. Sanderson answered:
“Yes, grief can become rigid in some families, but preserving developmentally appropriate connection to the deceased parent is generally not the same as unhealthy fixation.”
Then Celeste asked about:
“Reducing memorial objects.”
Dr. Sanderson said:
“Possibly, if the child is overwhelmed and the surviving parent and therapist agree.”
Did Eva show unhealthy fixation?
Celeste described:
Wearing locket.
Asking about Mommy.
Looking at photographs.
At age three.
Dr. Sanderson wrote:
These behaviors sound broadly developmentally understandable given bereavement history. I would not recommend abrupt removal of objects or caregivers.
Celeste did not schedule another appointment.
Instead she put in the Reset document:
Move Eva’s therapy after transition.
May you like
Not because the therapists told her to erase Mara.
Because they did not.
