Family Transformation Through Divorce and Remarriage

Family Transformation Through Divorce and Remarriage is the first book to look thoroughly at the complete divorce-remarriage-stepfamily cycle in the context of demographic data, the legal process and the theoretical framework. For each phase of the cycle, the author describes the stages of development, summarises the relevant research and illustrates the effects on family members with case examples.

Margaret Robinson has been involved in therapeutic work with families for over thirty years, and in mediation for ten years. She is Consultant Conciliator to the Institute of Family Therapy, London, a marital and family therapist in private practice, and a guardian ad litem.

1 Introduction: the post-nuclear family 2 The family as a system 3 The family as a system: models of intervention 4 Families through the divorce process: divorce as a private Sorrow 5 Families through the divorce process: when divorce becomes a public issue 6 Becoming a stepfamily: starting out 7 Becoming a stepfamily: getting it together 8 Children during divorce and remarriage 9 Ways and means of intervening during divorce and remarriage: outside the courts 10 Ways and means of intervening during the divorce process: 'Within the shadow of the law'-complementary roles or adversarial partisans? 11 Can re-formed extended families become 'good enough'? 12 Afterword: the reformation of family policy-a second chance for families in transition?