Step-Parenting, Co-Parenting, and Children in Complex Family Systems
 

Step-parents are often expected to nurture relationships, respect established roles, and adapt to dynamics that may still be in transition.
 

Co-parents are trying to manage schedules, money, values, and discipline across households with different values and needs.

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Kids often encounter unclear expectations, diverse emotional styles, and sometimes different narratives about what happened in the past.

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In this environment, I help:

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• Step-parents find a role within the family that is real, respectful, and meaningful.
   

• Parents balance loyalty to their children with loyalty to their partner.
   

• Co-parents communicate with clearer boundaries and less reactivity, especially around hot topics like discipline, holidays, and money.
   

• Children feel heard, understood, and respected.
   

We look at what’s currently happening in your home and design small, specific changes that reduce tension and increase trust.

Adoption, Adult Adoptees, and Identity
 

Because I am an adoptee who later reunited with my birth mother, I carry both the personal and clinical lens on adoption.
 

In therapy, I work with:
 

• Adults who were adopted and are now trying to navigate marriage, parenting, and extended family dynamics.
   

• Parents in blended families where adoption, step-parenting, and complex histories overlap.
   

We explore:
 

• How early attachment experiences affect closeness, conflict, and trust in adult relationships.
   

• The push–pull of wanting independence and fearing abandonment.
   

• How to talk with kids about adoption and family stories in a way that is honest, age-appropriate, and grounding.
   

The goal is not to ignore or rewrite your history.
The goal is to understand the impact on you and your relational patterns.

Neurodiversity Inside Blended Families
 

Many blended families are also navigating neurodiversity—autism, ADHD, high sensitivity (HSP), learning differences, or twice-exceptionality (2e).
 

In my own family, our three kids each have different neurotypes, my husband has ADHD, and I’m an HSP. I know what it’s like when:
 

• One child needs high structure while another needs flexibility.
   

• Sensory and emotional overload collide with a loud, busy household.
   

• Different neurotypes across multiple households create misunderstandings and conflict.
   

In therapy, I help blended families:
 

• Build shared language for neurodiversity so kids and adults feel understood.
   

• Create routines that work across households as much as possible, while respecting each home’s limits.
   

• Support siblings with different needs while promoting fairness and emotional well-being.
   

Neurodiversity heightens the need for clarity, compassion, and intentional structure in blended families.

Parenting Through Crisis, Health Issues, and Chronic Stress
 

Being a mom to a child with chronic illness has taught me about the impact of ongoing stress on parents and families. I’ve navigated medical crises while protecting normalcy for my other children and learning how chronic stress can strain a marriage—and what it takes to preserve connection.
 

Blended families under this kind of stress are especially vulnerable to:

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• Splits between households on the seriousness of a situation.
   

• Burnout in one home while the other feels judged or detached.
   

• Kids absorbing the stress and acting it out in school, behavior, or shutdown.
   

I help families:
 

• Stabilize the nervous system at home before layering on new rules or expectations.
   

• Have honest conversations about fear, grief, anger, and exhaustion.
   

• Align enough on the big-picture priorities so kids don’t get caught in the middle.

Parent Coaching, School Support, and Systems Work
 

Before becoming a therapist, I helped launch two schools—a preschool and a K–8 school—with a focus on administration and admissions.
 

That background helps when blended families are dealing with:

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• School behavior issues linked to transitions between homes.
   

• IEPs or 504 plans that don’t fully reflect what’s happening in both households.
   

• Misunderstandings between schools and parents.
   

I help parents:
 

• Translate their child’s experience into language schools can hear.
   

• Prepare for school meetings with clear goals and realistic expectations.
   

• Advocate for what their child needs.
   

I was honored with a California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists (CAMFT) award in 2025 for my collaborative work with children, their families, and other specialists, in a school setting.

Mind–Body Wellness and Real Life
 

I don’t just talk to clients about regulation and connection—I practice it in my own life.
 

Trail running with friends helps me reset and recharge. Cooking with my family, from homemade pasta to playful cooking challenges, brings laughter and connection. 
 

Time with friends, reading, playing with our golden retriever, going on dates with my husband, jumping on the trampoline with my son, or simply hanging out with my teen daughters—these things keep me grounded in what truly matters.

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These moments remind me that blended families don’t need to be flawless.

They need stability, opportunities for repair, and meaningful connection to create a calmer, more fulfilling family life.

Treatment Modalities – An Integrative Approach
 

There’s no one formula for blended families.
 

I take time to get to know:
 

• Your family’s structure and history.
   

• Each adult’s and child’s story.
   

• The patterns that keep repeating and causing disharmony.
   

From there, I tailor an approach that fits your actual people. I draw from:
 

Foundational Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), ACT, Humanistic/Person-Centered, Solution-Focused/Brief, Psychodynamic, Behavioral and Social Thinking interventions.
 

Mind–Body & Experiential
Mindfulness, somatic-informed work, and expressive arts to help clients connect with and regulate their internal experiences.
 

Relationship & Systems
Family Systems Therapy, Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT), and Relational Life Therapy (RLT) to support connection, accountability, and relational growth between partners, co-parents, and families.
 

Trauma-Informed
I use a trauma-informed lens, emphasizing safety, attunement, and pacing as we work toward healing.
 

Collaboration
When it supports your goals, I collaborate with schools, medical providers, and other specialists.