Joshua M. Gold

Helping Stepfathers ‘‘Step Away’’ From the Role of ‘‘Father’’: Directions for Family Intervention:

This article will use current data to confirm the growing numbers of stepfamilies as a legitimate family constellation in 21st century America. Given those incidences of stepfamily formation, clinicians need to understand salient characteristics of stepfathering as the most recent addition to the family dynamics as a way to support healthy stepfamily integration. This article will review the current literature to provide those descriptions in terms of family interaction patterns and of interactions with the nonresidential father leading to implications for clinical interventions.

Stepfathers and Noncustodial Fathers Two Men, One Role

For the majority of 21st-century children, the traditional experience of “one father at a time” has been replaced by the experience of two fathers (a stepfather and noncustodial biological father) at the same time. Given the inadequate institutionalization of either fathering role, this literature review encapsulates common defining themes and concerns. The implications of these results for family counselors seeking to intervene with stepfamilies, and their constituent components, are offered as are possibilities for future research.

Legitimizing the Child-Free Family: The Role of the Family Counselor.

Counselors aspiring to cultural sensitivity are directed to consider multiple factors, including issues of family values, and to become aware of personal value stances and what implications these values may have for their counseling practice. This article will focus on society’s pronatal biases by exploring the stereotypes ascribed to child-free families, by reviewing the professional literature on these families, and by offering implications for family counseling.

The Experiences of Childfree and Childless Couples in a Pronatalistic Society Implications for Family Counselors

While childfree and childless couples appear similar in member composition, the issues that each classification of family faces are distinctly different. This article will present literature-based data on the demographics, unique strengths, and clinical needs of each family system, leading to implications for family counselors.

Stepparents and the Law: Knowledge for Counselors, Guidelines for Family Members

This literature-based article will acquaint family counselors with the relevant family law statutes to better guide their counseling with stepfamilies and to help stepparents better understand the current laws regarding their status. The article will specifically address stepparent status, postdivorce custody, visitation, financial support plus inheritance.

Negotiating the Financial Concerns of Stepfamilies: Directions for Family Counselors:

This article integrates developmental schema and the tenets of positive psychology toward addressing “money issues” for stepfamilies. As stepfamilies represent the fastest growing demographic in family configurations, family counselors must be knowledgeable regarding normative stepfamily issues and familiar with techniques to support family development and enhancement. This article offers attention to the initial three areas of family demographics, positive psychology, and stepfamily developmental schema as foundations for the suggested practices.

Exploring Marital Satisfaction Among Graduate Students: Implications for Service Delivery

This article provides a synopsis of the theoretical and empirical literature describing the effects of graduate study on marital satisfaction. These findings offer implications for psychoeducational and responsive interventions for family counselors working with this population.

Family Resistance to Counseling: The Initial Agenda for Intergenerational and Narrative Approaches

This article advocates a use of intergenerational and narrative therapies to conceptualize and intervene with a familys legacy of resistance to external assistance, as exemplified by counseling. This notion is based on a review of the current professional literature on client resistance. This article will offer intervention strategies for counselors who decide to integrate this agenda into their relational counseling.

Supporting Later-in-Life Intimate Relationships: The Role of the Couples' Counselor

This literature-based article offers information regarding the prevalence of three later-in-life couple constellations: “empty-nesters,” cohabiting, and remarried couples. These demographic figures support the importance of the identification of common issues facing couples in each constellation, leading to implications for clinical services.

Honoring the Experiences of Gay Stepfamilies: An Unnoticed Population

ABSTRACT This article will acquaint the reader with the experiences of a largely overlooked yet growing subpopulation of stepfamilies: gay stepfamilies. The article presents available data on the prevalence of gay stepfamilies, their identified strengths, their known challenges, and the implications of these family experiences for family counselors who serve this population. The reader will also be provided with directions for future research and study specific to this population.