"I can't imagine that there's anyone who knows more about stepfamilies than Susan does. Until we saw her, I felt so alone, like our family had a rare, incurable disease. Right away, she helped us see why most stepcouples struggle with the same things we did. Working with her vastly improved our marriage and the emotional health of our children and stepchildren. It was also profoundly comforting to feel that she understood our challenges so well." J from Portland
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Welcome
You can have a solid marriage–and an enjoyable family life. But, to do that, you have to understand the most important relationship in a stepfamily: the stepcouple.
Is your stepfamily tearing the two of you apart?
When there are kids involved, remarriage can feel like a constant struggle.
Nobody ever told you it would be this hard. You expected the Brady Bunch — but you’re fighting all the time. Whether you’re arguing openly or freezing each other out, your home is a minefield of conflict.
The magical feelings of love and tenderness that propelled you into each others’ arms and down the aisle seem to have evaporated.
And, truth be told, you’re wondering if you made a big mistake.
You’ve tried everything you already know to do. But nothing worked.
What you didn’t understand is that stepfamilies are fundamentally different from nuclear families. Stepfamilies face challenges you couldn’t begin to imagine before you were in one.
You can have a solid marriage–and an enjoyable family life. But, to do that, you have to understand the most important relationship in a stepfamily: the stepcouple.
‘Stepcouple’ means the adults in a marriage (or committed relationship) that includes children from previous relationships. Stepfamily stability and success depend on the quality and strength of the stepcouple.
A healthy, strong stepcouple relationship is the key to:
- enjoying life together–just the two of you and as a family
- raising emotionally healthy children
- creating a long-lasting relationship over time
Having a healthy, strong stepcouple relationship doesn’t take magic–or luck. It takes four ‘C’s:
- Nourishing strong emotional connections between partners
- Communicating effectively
- Becoming creative co-parents
- Clarifying unresolved issues from previous relationships
These are all skills you and your partner can learn. Hundreds of other stepcouples–people just like you, people at their wits’ end about how to cope within their stepfamily–have learned them.
Who am I? I’ve been a counselor in private practice since 1988, specializing in counseling stepcouples and stepfamilies. I know from my personal and clinical experience that a strong stepcouple is the foundation and glue in a healthy stepfamily. I even wrote a book about it.
What now? You can get immediate help with stepfamily challenges with my free e-book, Comfort Zones. I highly recommend it as a first step toward creating a healthier stepcouple and stepfamily.
Not sure? If you’re on the fence about whether stepcoupling is right for you, find out more about the kinds of people who benefit from my approach.
Best wishes to you and your stepfamily,
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