Family Transformation Through Divorce and Remarriage: A Systematic Approach

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Illustrations......Page 9
Foreword......Page 11
Preface......Page 14
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS......Page 17
1 Introduction......Page 18
Demographic trends: couples who divorce......Page 20
THE LEGAL FRAMEWORK: GROUNDS FOR THE DISSOLUTION OF MARRIAGE......Page 21
THE LEGAL PROCESS OF DIVORCE......Page 24
THE STRUCTURE OF THE COURTS......Page 25
CHILDREN IN FAMILIES AND DIVORCE......Page 26
THE CUSTODY OF CHILDREN......Page 27
MARRIAGE MATTERS......Page 28
DIVORCE......Page 31
A LONE PARENT......Page 33
FINANCIAL CONSEQUENCES OF DIVORCE......Page 34
REMARRIAGE AND STEPFAMILIES......Page 36
2 The family as a system......Page 38
MARRIAGE AS A RELATIONSHIP......Page 39
SYSTEMS THEORY......Page 40
TOWARDS A RE-FORMED, EXTENDED FAMILY SYSTEMS MODEL......Page 41
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF A FAMILY SYSTEMS MODEL......Page 43
THE FAMILY AS A SYSTEM......Page 44
LANGUAGE AND THE CONVERSATIONAL DOMAIN......Page 49
THE DEVELOPMENT OF BEHAVIOUR WHICH IS PROBLEMATIC FOR THE FAMILY......Page 50
THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE......Page 51
THE MARITAL SYSTEM......Page 53
MARITAL BREAKDOWN......Page 57
DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE AS ADDITIONAL STAGES OF THE FAMILY LIFE CYCLE......Page 59
FAMILY SYSTEMS THEORY AND MODELS OF INTERVENTION......Page 62
THE CONSTRUCTIVIST APPROACH TO FAMILY INTERVENTION......Page 64
GUIDELINES FOR THE PRACTICE OF THERAPEUTIC CONVERSATIONS......Page 67
THE MEDIATION MODEL OF INTERVENTION DURING THE DIVORCE PROCESS......Page 69
Stage 1......Page 75
Stage 2......Page 76
Stage 5......Page 77
A COMPARISON OF CONCILIATION AND A CONSTRUCTIVIST FAMILY THERAPY APPROACH TO INTERVENTION......Page 78
CONCLUSION......Page 79
4 Families through the divorce process......Page 80
RECOGNISING MARITAL BREAKDOWN......Page 86
The Ashtead family......Page 87
THE DECISION TO SEPARATE OR DIVORCE......Page 89
The Bexley family......Page 92
PREPARING AND PLANNING THE OUTCOME......Page 95
The Chigwell family......Page 97
SEPARATION......Page 99
Divorce as bereavement......Page 100
Telling the children......Page 101
Sharing the parenting after separation and divorce......Page 102
The Epsom family......Page 106
The visiting parental relationship......Page 107
THE LEGAL PROCESS......Page 110
Custody matters......Page 113
Joint custody......Page 114
Case example—the process......Page 115
Mother custody......Page 116
THE POST-DIVORCE FAMILY......Page 117
The aftermath of the break-up of the marriage and the divorce......Page 118
Restabilisation......Page 119
The Farnborough family......Page 120
GENDER DIFFERENCES AND THE DIVORCE PROCESS......Page 121
CONCLUSION......Page 126
6 Becoming a stepfamily......Page 130
Complexity of stepfamily structures......Page 132
Continual transitions......Page 133
No common past history as a family......Page 134
THE SUPRA FAMILY SYSTEM......Page 135
Purposes......Page 136
Other influences......Page 137
Forces impinging on the stepfamily system......Page 138
TYPOLOGIES OF STEPFAMILIES......Page 139
Stepfather households......Page 141
THE STEPFAMILY LIFE CYCLE......Page 142
NEW BEGINNINGS......Page 143
The Chigwell family (continued)......Page 147
EFFORTS AT ASSIMILATION......Page 148
The Greenwich family......Page 150
AWARENESS......Page 151
The Hartlepool family......Page 153
RESTRUCTURING......Page 156
The Ilford family......Page 158
ACTION......Page 160
The Jarrow/Kingston family......Page 162
INTEGRATING......Page 163
RESOLUTION: BECOMING A RE-FORMED FAMILY......Page 166
PHYSICAL AND SEXUAL CHILD ABUSE IN STEPFAMILIES......Page 167
Unresolved mourning issues from the original family......Page 169
Structure......Page 170
Wide discrepancies between life-cycle stages of the binuclear family......Page 171
Unrealistic expectations......Page 172
8 Children during divorce and remarriage......Page 174
CHILD-CENTRED PERCEPTIONS OF SEPARATION AND DIVORCE......Page 175
YOUNG CHILDREN......Page 180
CHILDREN OF SCHOOL AGE TO ADOLESCENCE......Page 182
ADOLESCENT CHILDREN......Page 184
LONG-TERM OUTCOME AND CONCLUSIONS......Page 187
HOUSEHOLD......Page 191
CHILDREN LIVING IN STEPFAMILIES......Page 193
CHILDREN OF DIVORCE AND THE SCHOOL......Page 195
CHILD ABDUCTION......Page 196
9 Ways and means of intervening during divorce and remarriage......Page 200
SUPPORT......Page 201
WHOSE CHOICE OF INTERVENTION?......Page 203
COMPARISON BETWEEN MEDIATION PSYCHOTHERAPY AND FAMILY THERAPY......Page 206
THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTION......Page 207
Gillian Lancaster......Page 209
Marital/divorce therapy......Page 210
The Nottingham family......Page 211
CONCILIATION/MEDIATION......Page 213
The Oldham family......Page 217
The Preston family......Page 219
The Quinton family......Page 222
UNMARRIED PARTNERS......Page 225
The Rochdale/Stockport family......Page 226
CONCLUSIONS......Page 228
10 Ways and means of intervening during the divorce process......Page 230
Clients’ perceptions of the solicitor......Page 231
Professional guidelines......Page 236
Solicitors and children......Page 237
Lawyers as mediators......Page 239
DIVORCE COURT WELFARE OFFICERS......Page 240
Vignette......Page 243
The clients’ search for a settlement......Page 244
Conciliatory or investigative?......Page 246
A COMPARISON OF THE OCCUPATIONS INVOLVED WITH PARTNERS IN SEPARATION AND DIVIORCE......Page 250
REFLECTION PROCESS AND/OR GREEK CHORUS?......Page 255
The reflection process......Page 256
The Greek chorus......Page 257
11 Can re-formed extended families become ‘good enough’?......Page 262
THE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS......Page 263
SINGLE-PARENT HOUSEHOLDS......Page 265
SHARING THE PARENTING IN STEPFAMILIES......Page 267
STEPFATHER FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS......Page 270
STEPMOTHER HOUSEHOLDS......Page 272
RE-FORMED EXTENDED FAMILIES WHERE THERE IS ‘CUT-OFF’ FROM ONE BIOLOGICAL PARENT (USUALLY THE FATHER)......Page 273
STEPSIBLINGS AND HALF SIBLINGS......Page 274
GENDER ISSUES......Page 276
In the United States......Page 277
In the United Kingdom......Page 282
ACCESS......Page 283
GRANDPARENTS AND STEPGRANDPARENTS......Page 287
DIVORCING PARENTSAND STEPFAMILY......Page 288
Guidelines for parents of children of divorce......Page 289
The remarriage/cohabitation partnership......Page 291
The re-formed extended family......Page 292
Gender issues......Page 293
Continuing disagreements......Page 294
THE ENTERPRISE CULTURE AND THE FAMILY......Page 296
THE CHILDREN ACT 1989: IMPLICATIONS FOR FAMILIES IN SEPARATION AND DIVORCE......Page 301
FACING THE FUTURE: IMPLICATIONS OF THE PROPOSED CHANGES IN THE LAW IN RELATION TO DIVORCE......Page 306
THE IMPLICATIONS OF THE CONCILIATION PROJECT UNITS PROPOSALS FOR A NEW STRUCTURAL MODEL FOR THE PRACTICE OF CONCILIATION......Page 309
REPRESENTATION OF THE CHILD IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS......Page 314
CROSS-DISCIPLINARY TRAINING......Page 316
CONCLUSION......Page 317
Some useful addresses......Page 322
1 INTRODUCTION: THE POST-NUCLEAR FAMILY......Page 324
2 THE FAMILY AS A SYSTEM......Page 326
3 THE FAMILY AS A SYSTEM: MODELS OF INTERVENTION......Page 329
4 FAMILIES THROUGH THE DIVORCE PROCESS: DIVORCE AS A PRIVATE SORROW......Page 331
5 FAMILIES THROUGH THE DIVORCE PROCESS: WHEN DIVORCE BECOMES A PUBLIC ISSUE......Page 334
6 BECOMING A STEPFAMILY: STARTING OUT......Page 336
7 BECOMING A STEPFAMILY: GETTING IT TOGETHER......Page 339
8 CHILDREN DURING DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE......Page 340
9 WAYS AND MEANS OF INTERVENING DURING DIVORCE AND REMARRIAGE: OUTSIDE THE COURTS......Page 344
10 WAYS AND MEANS OF INTERVENING DURING THE DIVORCE PROCESS: ‘WITHIN THE SHADOW OF THE LAW'......Page 346
11 CAN RE-FORMED EXTENDED FAMILIES BECOME ‘GOOD ENOUGH'?......Page 348
12 THE REFORMATION OF FAMILY POLICY—A SECOND CHANCE FOR FAMILIES IN TRANSITION?......Page 352
Name index......Page 356
Subject index......Page 362
CHILD SUPPORT ACT (1991)......Page 367
CHILDREN ACT (1989)......Page 369
COURT WELFARE WORK......Page 370
CONCILIATION/MEDIATION......Page 371
COMPREHENSIVE MEDIATION......Page 372
CHILDREN AND DIVORCE......Page 374
COUNSELLING AND MEDIATION FOR CHILDREN DURING THE DIVORCE PROCESS......Page 375
CONCLUSION......Page 377
BIBLIOGRAPHY TO THE POSTSCRIPT......Page 378