ABSTRACT
As family therapists we have been trained to recognize developmental stages that occur in the life experiences of our clients (e.g., Newman, Newman, & Morgan, 2002) and their families (compiled in Carter & McGoldrick, 1998). Much of our clinical work addresses those challenges almost universally experienced at each stage of life’s development. We know to watch for a child’s signs of independence and the parents’ response to these from toddlerhood through late adolescence. We appreciate how parents may struggle to adjust to the “empty nest” when their last child leaves home.
