The experiences of loss and disappointment that people don’t want to think about, remember, or talk about often come back to haunt them in their current lives. It is just those experiences that clients thought they had escaped and left behind in the past that ambush them at the most inopportune time, seemingly out of nowhere. I believe it is when people are able to confront the shame and guilt of their private phantoms, when they can understand and flesh out sufferings that have for too long been borne alone, that they may free themselves finally from the invisible loyalties that compel them to repeat the past. By uncovering and mourning the sources of despair and fatalism that had secretly pervaded their lives, clients can face the future with a greater sense of freedom and renewed hope for a better life.