My Parent Remarried: Why Do I Still Feel Angry About the New “Family”
“I love my dad but I really don’t like his new wife — and that means I spend less time[…]
Read moreAuthor: Cortney Pasternak
Feeling Like an Outsider in Your Blended Family? What Stepparents Need to Know About Stepfamily Development
Often, when blended families or stepfamilies come to me for help, stepparents are confused about why things aren’t working. After[…]
Read moreHow Trauma and Grief Change Your Relationship With Yourself: Part 2 | Trauma Therapy in Hamilton & Online Ontario
“Healing Isn’t About Becoming the Person You Were Before. Healing happens in relationships — your relationship with your partner, your[…]
Read moreTrauma Changes Relationships Part 1 — Including the Relationship You Have with Yourself
Healing isn’t just about what happened to you. It’s about learning to relate to yourself, others, and the world in[…]
Read moreWhen Disagreement Feels Like Rejection: Why Some Families Can’t Tolerate Difference
What Bowen’s Family Systems Theory Can Teach Us About Conflict, Belonging, and Being Yourself There are some families where disagreement[…]
Read moreBuilding a Blended Family One Relationship at a Time
One of the biggest misconceptions about blended families or stepfamilies is the belief that the goal is to become “one[…]
Read moreWhen Your Child Becomes the “Problem” in a Blended Family: What Their Behaviour May Really Be Trying to Tell You
Do any of these statements feel familiar? “Our teenager is ruining our family.” “She won’t accept my new husband.” “He[…]
Read moreWhy Blended Families Feel So Hard (Even When Everyone Loves, Likes, or Cares for Each Other)
“We love each other. Or at least we thought we did. So why is this so hard?” That, is one[…]
Read moreWhen You Didn’t Get the Parent You Needed: Caring for Aging Parents After a Difficult Childhood
One of the more complicated experiences therapists working with family conflict, is not caring for an aging parent you feel[…]
Read moreCanada’s World Cup Heartbreak, the Human Need to Belong, and Mental Health
There was an unexpected debate in our house this week. Not about politics. Not about whose turn it was to[…]
Read more
