About the
Coach
I
am a 50 year-old mother of two daughters, 3 stepsons,
one dog, and a cat. I am a member of the 66% of
Americans who divorced twice. After the second
divorce I got serious about discovering who I really
was!
Unlike the
people I mention in that 66% group, reasons behind the second
divorce had nothing to do with step relationships. As a
matter of fact, I attribute the decision to become a life
and parent coach (specifically to help stepfamilies) to my youngest
stepson.
After I
finished taking courses towards a continuing education in
psychology degree at my local community college, I became a
student at Coachville.
Coachville
has given me a strong foundation of coaching proficiencies.
I am a member of the staff at the International Stepfamily
Foundation and am a student of Jeanette Lofas’ Stepfamily
Foundation in New York City. I am also a student of Peter
K. Gerlach’s teaching, who is a retired SAA 27-year board member & expert advisor for the National Stepfamily Resource Center.
Jeanette is a therapist and
leading expert on divorce and step relationships who received
a commendation from President Clinton in 1996 for “outstanding
efforts in strengthening stepfamilies across America.”
No training
is offered to psychiatrists, psychologists, therapists, social
workers & clergy when it comes to the problems unique to step
relationships. Most are still trained in the model of the
traditional or biological family. Although their advice is
well intentioned, it has little to do with the stepfamily.
The training I have received is directly related and therefore
extremely relevant and effective in coaching stepfamilies.
I feel that
in order to be effective as a stepfamily coach, one needs to
have actually walked the walk. I’ve been a step grandchild, a
stepchild, had an excellent step parent and step grandparent
as models. I am a stepmother & step grandmother with a lot of
experience and insight.
The discovery
of my self was a realization of my passion to help other
people understand the very problematic and unique dynamics
that stepfamilies face. Through that understanding comes the
ability to strengthen their stepfamily. That is my mission as
a family & parent coach. |
