The Long-Term Effects of Parental Alienation: An Adult Child's Perspective

🎯 "Just pretend they are dead."

That's what a psychiatrist told Steven Eichenblatt's biological father—advice he followed when he dropped seven-year-old Steven and his twin sister off one day and never came back.

Steven is now an attorney with 37 years of experience, a guardian ad litem who represents children pro bono in custody cases, and the author of "Pretend They Are Dead"—a riveting memoir about what it's actually like to be the alienated child.

This conversation offers a perspective rarely heard in discussions about parental alienation: what happens to that child decades later? What are the long-term effects? How do you survive and build a life after that kind of abandonment?

What You'll Learn:

✅ What it's like when your father disappears and you come home to a stranger who's now your "new dad"
✅ The Brady Bunch from Hell: Being thrown into a blended family with zero preparation
✅ How compartmentalizing helps kids survive—and haunts adults later
✅ Why Steven describes his emotional state as "the feeling of no feeling"
✅ The journey to reuniting with his biological father (spoiler: there's no fairy tale ending)
✅ What Steven sees as a guardian ad litem that parents don't understand
✅ Why anger in custody disputes makes everything worse for your kids
✅ The critical importance of not bad-mouthing the other parent (from someone who lived it)
✅ How to present yourself to a GAL if one is appointed in your case
✅ Why therapy and exercise are non-negotiable for parents in high-conflict divorce

About Steven Eichenblatt:

Steven Eichenblatt is a personal injury attorney in Orlando, Florida with 37 years of legal experience. He represents children pro bono as a guardian ad litem in custody cases—work he's passionate about because of his own childhood experience with family disruption and parental abandonment. He's been married three times, is a father of five, and openly discusses how his childhood alienation affected his ability to form intimate emotional connections in his adult relationships. His book "Pretend They Are Dead" chronicles his experience being abandoned by his biological father, adopted by an abusive stepfather, and his later journey to reconnect with the father who left.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 - Introduction: Adult alienated child + attorney + guardian ad litem
01:57 - "Pretend they are dead": The title's devastating origin
03:05 - Steven's background: 37 years as attorney, guardian ad litem work
03:26 - What happened: Father disappeared, new man moved in overnight
05:11 - The Brady Bunch from Hell: Seven kids, no counseling, punitive rules
07:25 - Major disruptions all at once: New father, siblings, name change, move
09:21 - Compartmentalizing to survive: "The feeling of no feeling"
12:15 - Difference in impact between Steven and his twin sister
15:40 - The journey to finding his biological father (no fairy tale)
18:22 - Learning his father's side of the story (complex, no villains)
21:35 - Long-term effects: Struggles with intimacy and emotional connection
24:10 - What he sees as a guardian ad litem
27:45 - How to present to a GAL: Don't be angry, be organized
30:18 - The critical mistake parents make: Bad-mouthing the other parent
33:50 - Why the "victim role" doesn't serve you or your kids
37:24 - Practical advice: Therapy, exercise, managing anger
40:21 - Where to find Steven and his book

READ STEVEN'S BOOK:

📚 "Pretend They Are Dead" - Available on Amazon
🌐 Website: www.stevenscottiechenblatt.com
📧 Available for questions and lawyer referrals in Florida

BEEN THERE GOT OUT RESOURCES:

📚 Parental Alienation Course (Launching March 2026)
💬 Instagram: @been_there_got_out
🌐 Blog: https://beentheregotout.com/blog

#ParentalAlienation