Summary: Please join Peggy Nolan and Erin Erickson as they dish tips, tools, and advice with Susan Wisdom, licensed professional counselor and author of "StepCoupling." About StepCoupling: Is your stepfamily tearing the two of you apart? 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. 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. In order to be successful, you have to understand the most important relationship in a stepfamily: the stepcouple. Having a healthy, strong stepcouple relationship doesn’t take magic – or luck. It takes four C’s: 1. Nourishing strong emotional connections between partners 2. Communicating effectively 3. Becoming creative co-parents 4. 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.
