Abbee Smith LCSW
Intrigue Counseling
for kids, adults, & couples
574-234-3515
South Bend IN & Buchanan MI
Counseling for Divorce
and Blended Families
Are you going through a protracted divorce?
New marriage & struggling with his kids / her kids issues?
Really want to get it right this time?
Relationships are a challenge in every stage and configuration. When you're just starting to develop an intimate bond, you don't want to say or do the wrong thing. But after years of marriage and several children, it's harder than ever to feel connected and heard.
Divorce is common, and painful, even when both parties agree it's the best solution to their relationship breakdown. According to the American Psychological Association, around 50% of first marriages end in divorce, and the rate for subsequent marriages is even higher.
But statistics aren't helpful when it's your own personal experience. What you want to know right now is how to survive the hurt and anger, and how to rebuild your capacity to trust yourself and a new mate once this divorce is over.
Counseling during divorce is
a smart act of self-care.
Maybe all the legalities have been completed, and you're feeling a bigger sense of loss than you expected. Maybe the frustration has given way to feeling depressed that you couldn't make the marriage work. Or perhaps your mind is relieved to have it done, but your heart is feeling anxious about what's next in your future.
And maybe your children are also struggling to figure out what this change in their family means for them. Sometimes keeping yourself calm and emotionally in control for their sake is the hardest part of the process and aftermath of divorce.
While it can be normal to feel overwhelmed, disappointed and a bit lost all at once, maybe you can't quite seem to pick up the pieces and put your life back together.
Post-divorce counseling
will help you regain
confidence and balance.
At some point you will likely start to date again, and you'll meet someone who has been through what you have. You might feel like there is an instant understanding and mutual sympathy. But it's important to build the new relationship on a clean foundation.
Relationship counseling can help you identify and correct the mistakes of the past so new partnerships can be healthier and more satisfying.
In counseling you can learn to:
-
be assertive without being aggressive
-
ask for what you want
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get mutual needs met without resentment or self-sacrifice
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listen fully and feel heard
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discuss money, sex, co-parenting and other difficult topics
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trust your choices and your intuition
-
be prepared for blended family bumps in the road
Counseling will help you
have a relationship that works
Often the hardest part of finding new love is navigating the process of gaining acceptance with his or her children from a previous marriage.
Blending families can be a true blessing. But it may be hard at first to combine respect, parental authority, discipline, and friendliness in a way that establishes the roles and rules in a new family configuration.
Counseling for blended families will make that tricky process easier.
In blended family counseling, children are encouraged to express opinions, fears and feelings in a kind and respectful manner. And parents are helped in providing active listening and non-judgmental feedback. Kids and adults grow together in authentic, genuine, and loving communication skills.
Blended family counseling
helps you all feel loved
and accepted
Whether you are in process of divorcing, currently single, have a new love, or are trying to make a new blended family work, counseling will help you achieve your goals, and get your needs met.
Don't delay
Find out how counseling
can help you
Call Abbee at 574-234-3515
or email for an appointment now