It can take anywhere from four to seven years for a stepfamily to successfully blend, according to Joshua M. Gold in his book Stepping In, Stepping Out: Creating Stepfamily Rhythm. The formation of a stepfamily is “uncharted water for everyone,” he says. Not only do parents and children each carry
Tag: Family
Damion’s (*) grandmother walked into the office, eyes reluctant to connect. Sitting on the sofa, she slowly began to explain her reason for coming in. “I made this appointment for my grandson. He’s 3. The day care has threatened to suspend him. He pulled his pants down while in line
As counselors, we come in contact with clients who are angry or heartbroken and oftentimes feel defeated. This sense of pain and loss is frequently realized in the forensic setting in which I work with parents who are desperate to rebuild a parent-child relationship that is severely damaged or estranged.
Licensed professional counselors are increasingly becoming involved in court proceedings relative to their work with families involved in high-conflict divorce, separation and custody litigation. Counseling professionals can serve in a variety of roles when working with families embroiled in divorce litigation. For example, a counselor might develop a therapeutic relationship
“Rose” and “Steve” came to American Counseling Association member Laura Marshak for couples counseling because they felt they had been growing further and further apart ever since their son, “Sammy,” who was now in elementary school, had been born with cerebral palsy. Out of necessity, Steve had become the primary breadwinner
This past summer, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife, pediatrician Priscilla Chan, announced that they are expecting a baby. This celebrity baby news grabbed headlines for a different reason than most, however. The couple’s announcement included a candid acknowledgment that they had been trying to have a baby for
Counseling individuals and families experiencing divorce is difficult work, often fraught with conflict that is challenging to contain. A great amount of anxiety, fear, anger and sadness may be present for all of the people involved, including one or both of the spouses and the children. Each individual may feel
G roup counseling was known to be a beneficial method of treatment for substance abuse even prior to the 1935 founding of Alcoholics Anonymous, but it wasn’t until after World War II that group therapy became a widely accepted form of treatment. It was used in psychiatric hospitals, outpatient treatments,
The holidays are supposed to be the “most wonderful time of the year,” right? After all, the greeting cards and carols of the season are filled with words like “cheer,” “joy,” “merry” and “happy.” For many people though, the holidays invite the opposite: dread, deep sadness or a resurgence of
When Russian author Leo Tolstoy wrote in his novel Anna Karenina, “Each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way,” he was definitely on to something. A dysfunctional family environment has myriad effects on its members — effects that are intricately woven by factors such as personalities, communication abilities, attachment