Uncategorized

Separate Nest Syndrome: How To Cope When Your Pre-Teen Or Teen Doesn’t Want To Spend Time With You There is certainly a lot written on the Empty Nest Syndrome – the period of grief that many parents feel after their grown child leaves home – but there are far fewer articles on how parents can best navigate their pre-teen or teen’s journey toward independence while still living at home. The journey from childhood to adulthood is marked by significant emotional and developmental milestones, one of which is the onset of the "Separate Nest Syndrome." This term captures the essence of [...]

Three Tips To Getting Back to Normal After COVID-19 By Michael Oberschneider, Psy.D. As a global pandemic, COVID-19 has had a profound impact on the world. To date, there have been close to 180 million total cases, and the virus has tragically taken the lives of over 3.8 million people. Regardless of one’s personal experience with COVID-19, for the past 15 months, the world as we have always known it has not been the same place in very upsetting ways -- working from home, virtual learning for our children, social distancing, financial hardships, stress and anxiety in response to changes [...]

As a child psychologist, the topic of vacationing with extended family members comes up quite a bit this time of year, and family relations and dynamics can certainly be complex.  Packing into a beach house, trekking around Europe, going on a cruise or visiting a theme park with in-laws, aunts and uncles, grandparents or siblings can be adventurous and fun, but for others, it can be extremely challenging.  As one parent recently told me, “Don’t get me wrong, I love my family, but shoving 14 of us into a beach house in Bethany Beach for a week never ends well.” So, [...]