Working with Stepfamilies

Abstract

Stepfamilies are complex family systems that warrant a specific model to guide therapy practice. Once a stepfamily has formed it's easy to overlook the lack of an attachment history that is commonly embedded in a biologically connected nuclear family. This can result in stepparents picking up parental responsibility for their stepchildren, which often may not go well. This paper highlights the need for clarity concerning the different levels of connection within a stepfamily, and the importance of avoiding ‘nuclear family‐style’ solutions and assumed attachments. This is especially important in the early stages of the relationship when everyone is adjusting to changing circumstances, which is often a time when issues of loyalty and betrayal fuel many of the actions taken. A range of family therapy techniques can be helpfully adapted to working with stepfamilies, especially as relationships with children often bring them to therapy. In particular, therapists can utilise ideas from structural family therapy to help guide the stepfamily to navigate the complexities of everyday life.

From First-Union Separation to Stepfamily in Italian Context: Building a Stepcouple Identity

“…Some differences in emotional experience come into light, depending on the length of the marriage and to the reasons of divorce (Walsh, 2011). In line with existing literature (e.g., Miran-Khan, 2017), results showed that if the new couple relationship is born on the idea of failure of the previous one, such failure could be considered as a bad start.…”

“…Furthermore, divorce can be experienced in a wide variety of ways, such as a personal failing, but also as an opportunity for personal growth and new beginning. When stepcouple identity originates and develops around the idea of a previous failure, the relationship could be linked to the utopian idea of the right match, where, unlike the first-union relationship, everything will be fine (Miran-Khan, 2017). Then, stepcouple could be considered by the partners as an opportunity to rebuild what divorce has broken and to reconstitute a traditionally structured family, without considering the specificity of stepfamily.…”

Mother‐Stepfather Coparenting in Stepfamilies as Predictor of Child Adjustment

“…Clinicians should thus pay attention to this structural complexity and take into account the parenting and coparenting experience of the stepparent, as well as the experience of the other family members (Blyaert, Van Parys, De Mol, & Buysse, 2016;Cartwright, 2005;Miran-Khan, 2017). Our results show that this specific coparenting relationship should not be forgotten when studying the relational dynamics that are meaningful for a child living in a stepfamily, and, even more, should not be forgotten in clinical work.…”

“…The support that the stepparent and the parent bring to each other plays a role in the well-being of the child, just as the coparenting relationship between the biological parents and the relationship between the stepparent and the stepchild do. Clinicians should thus pay attention to this structural complexity and take into account the parenting and coparenting experience of the stepparent, as well as the experience of the other family members (Blyaert, Van Parys, De Mol, & Buysse, 2016;Cartwright, 2005;Miran-Khan, 2017). The value of such a therapeutic strategy is attested to by the fact that educational programs that are intended to improve coparenting agreement between parents and stepparents have proven to be successful, especially by improving communication between partners regarding the education of the children (Garneau & Adler-Baeder, 2015;Skogrand, Davis, & Higginbotham, 2011).…”

Exploring Family Service Providers Perceptions of Working with Recoupled Parents in Stepfamilies

“…The participants in this research work with stepfamilies using the healthy nuclear family position as their initial guide (Berger, 1998;Visher & Visher, 1979). The qualifications they have relating to working with families do not include significant training related to utilizing different information and techniques working with stepfamily forms (Graham, 2010;Miran-Khan, 2017). Abby stated, "I have no memory of stepfamilies being mentioned at all specifically during my studies."…”