phone Statewide TeleHealth in California (818) 907-7974 / Se Habla Español (747) 249-8325
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Statewide Telehealth in California / Affordable Therapy

Stepparenting

Call (818) 907-7974

Stepparenting

Blended Families/Combined Families/New Families

Stepfamilies, also called blended families, include children from one or both parents’ first households. Often, stepfamilies experience stress as they attempt to restructure and redefine a new family unit. It is important to realize that it takes time for people to establish trust, love and mutual understanding.

Bringing two separate families together can be difficult. Rules and boundaries change. Expectations need to be realistic, for both the adults and the children.

Children often feel a lot of turmoil as they go from one home to another. A child can feel like a “traitor.” They may become resentful of their new situation and the blended family begins to suffer. Sometimes children rebel and try to do everything possible to break up the new marriage.

Children may blame one parent for the breakup of the original marriage, or believe that the parent who remarried did not put them first and did not care enough about them.

Parenting stepchildren may seem an impossible task, particularly when a child shows signs of unhappiness with the new blended family. Some symptoms children display are:

  • Introversion
  • Competitive behavior
  • Trouble in school
  • Not wanting to engage in a home life with the family
  • Anger toward the parent who remarried

Stepfamilies can look chaotic and feel unmanageable. Parents may begin to resent the stepchildren and each may wonder if they made the right decision, if the effort was worth it.

An Experienced Therapist Can Help You and Your Family

A therapist can help your family understand some of the feelings that have surfaced for each family member and guide you in developing new ways of communicating and behaving. We can explore rules and expectations and develop realistic goals and boundaries.

Finding ways to begin to build history with their newly combined family will contribute to the blended family’s perception of itself as a unit and increase children’s awareness of their roles within the new family.

Working with a trained therapist, can help you build trust, love, support and understanding and establish relationships that will work for your new family. Parents can learn about the needs of each other’s children along with gaining an understanding of the emotional needs of their own children.

Therapy can help the family function as a new developing unit, which may involve full family treatment or couples counseling and/or intervention for the children.

Arrange a
Counseling Session Today

At Affordable Therapy we provide telehealth services, and all sessions are done on zoom, offering the privacy of your home or office. All sessions are confidential.
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Call us at (818) 907-7974 / en español a (747) 249-8325

 

Our Therapy

Services

Our therapists offer caring and confidential services for:

Couples Counseling

Conflict and misunderstanding with a spouse or life partner can be challenging, but it can also be an impetus for growth and deepen your relationship. We work with individuals and couples, including same-sex couples, to strengthen your connection.

Communication

Communication can often be the most challenging issue in any relationship. Differing ideas about finances, child-rearing or health concerns can often create a wall between you and a loved one. We can help you develop tools to facilitate constructive dialogue and help eliminate blaming and name-calling.

Work Stress

You can spend up to half of your waking life at work. When it’s a persistent source of stress or anxiety, it can affect the rest of your life as well. We will help you effectively deal with any work-related issue, from relentless pressure to an unexpected termination.

Depression

Are you struggling to get through every day? Are you having trouble finding pleasure and a sense of well-being? Do you often feel like the things you do simply don’t make a difference? You could be suffering from depression. We can help you develop tools to combat feelings of helplessness and recognize the events that trigger negative feelings.

Loneliness

We all need to be alone at times, but loneliness can be crushing, leading to anxiety, listlessness and low self-esteem. We can help you pinpoint the underlying causes of your loneliness and help you develop tools to make yourself more available to others.

Gay / LGBTQ

Discriminated against or bullied because of your sexual orientation? Finding it difficult to be your authentic self with loved ones? We offer a supportive and non-judgmental approach, helping you deal with the social and personal challenges when you identify as LGBTQ.

Anxiety/Panic Attacks

We all feel anxiety or panic at some point in our lives. It shouldn’t cause us to withdraw from those we love or limit our connection with others. At Affordable Therapy, we have the tools to help you anticipate and respond to panic attacks, so that they don’t control your life. We know how scary panic attacks and anxiety can be. We have the techniques to help you reduce these symptoms.

Grief

Grief is often an ordinary and difficult part of life, but it’s different for everyone. When you’ve lost a loved one, you can struggle with knowing when and how to move forward. We can help you find healthy and constructive ways to feel and express your loss.

Addiction

Getting addictive behavior under control is hard work, but keeping it in check can often be more difficult. Whether its substance abuse, food, shopping, sex or gambling, we can help you identify problem behaviors and put practices in place to stay clean.

Adult Survivors of Child Abuse

When you’ve been the victim of child abuse, trust can be elusive, making relationships difficult and challenging. The effects of abuse can touch almost every area of your life. We offer a safe and non-threatening environment to help you develop ways to cope and move forward.

Crisis Intervention

Crisis can often seem a regular part of modern life. Whether it’s a natural disaster, a physical assault or relationship changes, unexpected events can paralyze you. We offer tools to help you effectively respond to fear, anger, grief and other potentially harmful emotions.

Stepparenting

Being a stepparent can often feel like a “no-win” situation. Your spouse hopes for a closer bond and your stepchildren can often be resistant. We can help you find ways to develop good relationships with your stepchildren, based on love, trust, support and understanding.

Call (818) 907-7974

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(818) 907-7974 / en Español at (747) 249-8325

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