our workshops

No of places: 12 per workshop

Timings: One day. 9.00am – 4.30pm

Location: Central London. Euston, London NW1

Cost:  £115.00. per person.

To book: Use the ‘contact us’ form on this website to tell us

To ask a question: ‘Contact us’ and if you’d like a call just say.

Programme content:

Getting it right so it doesn’t go wrong – in step-parenting.

Content will cover:

  • Understanding step-family life
  • Why it’s different and why it’s not what you expected.
  • Helpful perspectives, and how to work with these.
  • Strategies for making step-family life better
  • Boundaries and discipline when these vary from house to house and person to person.
  • Communication as a re-formed family
  • Working with your partner especially around the mixed emotions in step-families.
  • Being treated right as a step-parent
  • Love in a step-family and your role.
  • Children who are rude or difficult or needy.
  • Others of influence, the ex-partner(s), the in-laws, the neighbours, the community.
  • Making and having your own life with this family, not being ostricised or controlled.
  • Fresh starts
  • How to secure a better step-family future.

The outcomes of the workshop:

For participants to….

  • become more knowledgeable about step-family dynamics.
  • feel more confident and competent in their own step-family environment.
  • take away a personalised plans to help in their own family.
  • have enjoyed the day talking with others in step-family situations.
See Praticipant feedback

For whom: All partners of parents. Your partners children need not live with you, or can be occasional visitors, or live with you full-time. Your partner’s children can be adults or children. Participants can be established step-parents or people not yet met their step-children. Some step-children refuse to meet their step-parents, and these partners are also welcome.

Sometimes both partners in a family are step-parents. You may prefer to choose to attend separate workshops. How you feel about your partners parenting of their children can affect your working partnership. We like to solve these problems.  They are totally solvable. We can’t if the spouse is in the room because the person always has to be aware of what they are saying in front of their partner.

Aim: The workshops are of practical benefit. Designed to enable participants have more confidence, be happier, and know what to do for the best in their set of circumstances. They enable step-parents to be able to talk with their partners about creating a good family life.  Step-parents also enjoy meeting other step-parents in a supportive, friendly, social environment. Living inside a blended family is not common knowledge and not commonly understood.

Content: The workshops use a mixture of education – informing of stepfamily research and findings. Psychology – to help participants understand how past experience, expectations, feelings and reactions can be linked to the complex dynamic of a step-family. Behaviour change – strategies for problem solving and modifying step-family life to move forward to helpful and appropriate change.

Experience: The workshops normalise a step-parents experience. Inform step-parents about step-family life in ways they had not previously thought. Step-parents learn about strategies and ideas and can calmly and rationally think through what would help them next with their own step-parents experience. The workshops are friendly and participative. Confidentiality is talked about and asked for within the room. We hope the day will be fun, relaxing, a huge relief from the tribulations of step-family life, and very, very helpful to any step-parent whatever their circumstance.

Facilitators:  The two facilitators have much experience of step-family life. Alison O’Mahony is a Family Therapy Practitioner and Kim Revell is a Counselling psychologist. Please see details under ‘the team’ on this website. Both Alison and Kim are described as knowledgeable, sensitive and yet direct. They are experienced workshop facilitators, and have run this workshop several times.

Refund terms:

Up to 2 months before            Full refund less £10 admin fee.

Less than two months             50% refund from 2 months until a week prior.

Less than 7 days to go            No refund with less than 7 days before event

If workshop is cancelled.         Full refund will be given.