Citation

Bernstein AC. Fam. Process 2007; 46(1): 67-78.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2007, Family Process Institute, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/j.1545-5300.2006.00192.x

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

I address three themes in therapeutic interventions with complex postdivorce families: I begin by deconstructing the “Child of Divorce” as a dispositive narrative, or “script,” that restricts possibilities and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for children and parents in divorcing families and for therapists who work with them. I then discuss the gap between preconceptions and possibilities in the “new extended family” created by divorce and new partnerships, addressing such questions as family membership, restructuring workable postdivorce family forms, and how therapists can assist families in building both “good fences” and “good bridges.” I conclude by examining the potential for repairing relationships that have become strained by marital transitions, examining the application of such concepts as “accusatory suffering,”“self-defeating spite,” and “witnessing” to family therapy with this population, with especial emphasis on the relationship between parents and their adult children.