What happens to the adult woman who was raised without her father - possibly due to a lack of physical or emotional presence or a combination thereof? 

What happens to the adult man whose early maternal relationship was somehow not intact, or was dysfunctional, or perceived as unfulfilling? 

Motherlessness and fatherlessness frequently depends not on the death of the parent, but on the fact that the parent of the opposite gender is not there for the child in the way that is necessary for emotional, psychological, spiritual, and in some cases, even physical development to take place in a healthy fashion. Therefore, due to this lack of solid and cohesive parenting – which sometimes may occur even when the parent is doing their best - a dysfunctional mindset, behavior, or defense mechanism may evolve in the personality of the growing boy or girl.

Sometimes a father's physical presence may form part of the household, yet he may not be available for his daughter in the way that she hopes for as she searches his face in vain for a clue to her own identity; sometimes a mother believes she is doing her utmost to raise her son with love and attention, yet he feels as though he never received the love and support he so desperately sought from her as a child; as though he had been short-changed in the affection department.

Sometimes the parent is not actually present, due to divorce, abandonment, illness, or death; sometimes the parent is negligent, uncaring, or even abusive: in all these instances, the child suffers, and pays for it in his or her adult relationships … until he or she recognizes this and begins to work on resolving it. This course explores these issues, their recognition, and possible resolution.