Is it time to change the word ‘Broken’ Family ?

  I was speaking on BBC radio about a new piece of research around mental health and stepfamilies. What struck me as unhelpful & laden with negativity is the word ‘BROKEN’ to describe parents who are divorced, separated or apart. Broken implies a failure, broken implies damaged, no longer able to work, something destroyed & dysfunctional  but […]

Cooking up a happy step family is like a slow burning casserole !

Stepfamilies have a bad image. Think of Snow White’s jealous stepmother or Cinderella’s ugly sisters or at the other end of the spectrum, picture the unrealistically positive stepfamily, such as the Brady Bunch. But real life is more complicated that either of those stepfamily models and stepchildren have to come to terms with lots of […]

Understanding The Stepfamily Cycle.

  The Stepfamily Cycle I have been working with a lovely family who are finding it hard to adjust to the changes that blending two families together brings. I always remind my clients that bringing together 2 separate families is a process and not an event, and it takes time and flexibility on everyone’s behalf […]