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Workshops>Working with Clients in Stepfamily Relationships

Working with Clients in Stepfamily Relationships

Instructor(s): Patricia Papernow, Ed.D.

Date(s): September 24, 2010, 9:00 am to 4:45 pm

Cost: $135.00, $125 early registration, $110 groups of two or more (see below for details)

Location: 51 Kondazian Street, Watertown, MA 02472

Whether you work with adults or children, individuals, couples, or families, this workshop will describe therapeutic approaches that help stepfamily members to build and maintain a vital connection in the face of the divisive forces of “stepfamily architecture.”  Especially in the early years, what we inaccurately call “blended family” relationships often involve  “resistant” or unhappy children, conflicting parenting styles, uncooperative ex-spouses, and/or differing values on everything from whether Grape Nuts is a food or a form of cardboard to the appropriate cost of a new pair of sneakers.   We will look at how adults can help children handle the inevitable losses and emotional binds that stepfamily living foists upon them, discuss how successful step parenting differs from primary parenting, and review strategies for coexisting amicably with an ex-spouse.

You will leave with a pile of excellent handouts and a workable model for helping your clients to meet the challenges they face while forging vital, nourishing relationships.  The workshop will draw upon the Internal Family Systems model, attachment theory, interpersonal neurobiology, interpersonal skill building, as well as current stepfamily research.  We will begin the workshop with where stepfamilies start and how they differ from first-time families.  Then we will look at a three level clinical model: 

Level I.   Skills for Psychoeducation

Level II.  Interpersonal Skills (Patircia’s tool box)

Level III. Making the U-turn into Intrapsychic Work

 In this workshop we will explore how to meet the 5 major challenges created by "stepfamily architecture." Each section will describe the challenge for adults and kids, then present strategies for meeting the challenge on each of the three clinical levels.

  • Meeting the challenge of stuck insider/outsider relationships.
  • Meeting the challenges for kids in stepfamilies.
  • Meeting the challenge of polarized parenting styles.
  • Meeting the challenge of building a new family culture.
  • Meeting the challenge of ex-spouses and/or “other” parents.

Patricia Papernow, Ed.D, is a psychologist in private practice in Hudson, MA.  She has many years of experience training, supervising, and consulting throughout the United States on stepfamily relationships and post-divorce parenting.  Patricia is the author of Becoming a Stepfamily, the classic clinical reference on therapy with people in stepfamily relationships, as well as numerous articles and book chapters.  Currently, she is writing a second book on the subject.  She is a member of the Experts Advisory Council and Senior Training Faculty for the National Stepfamily Resource Center.   As a presenter she is engaging, uses humor and is helpful in an immediate and practical way.

Register for this Workshop:

This workshop is full. Registration is closed.

Registration Information and Workshop Policies:

  • Fees:  The Early registration rate is $125 per day, payment must be received 21 days prior to the workshop. The RegularRegistration rate is $135 per day (received within 3 weeks of the event). The Online registration rate is $135 per day.  
  • Group Registration rates: We encourage you attend with your friends/colleagues! Groups of two or more will be charged $110 per person per day.  Please mail together or indicate the person/people with whom you are attending.
  • Mail checks made out to Liz Brenner with completed registration form to:
    51 Kondazian Street, Watertown, MA 02472
  • Breakfast and afternoon snacks will be served; lunch on your own.  Unless otherwise specified, the day begins at 9 am and ends at 4:45 pm.
  • Participants MUST attend 100% of the program to earn 6 CEUs per day. CEU certificates will be given at the end of the day after you are fully paid and have completed the workshop evaluation form. Please contact us if you are concerned about whether we will be offering the Continuing Education Units you require.
  • Enrollment will be limited to 40 participants. Please call or email if you are registering within the last week to make sure there is still room to attend.
  • No refunds are available unless a written request is received 21 days before the program. A $50 administrative fee will be deducted from all refunds. No cancellations, including no shows, will be honored beyond this time frame.
  • Only email acknowledgments will be sent to confirm receipt of your registration.
  • If you require special accommodations, please submit a written statement at least 30 days prior to the program to see if we can meet your needs.
  • Workshops may be cancelled by the presenter(s) if minimum enrollment requirements are not met. In this case, full fees will be refunded. 
  • Weather cancellations are consistent with the decision of the Watertown, MA school system.  If Watertown is cancelled or delayed, the workshop will be as well.
  • Grievance policy is to submit a written complaint.  If the complaint cannot be resolved by Liz Brenner, she will consult with another faculty member for a second opinion to resolve the problem.