The raising children is, of course, a fundamental endeavor for many committed couples.  The challenges of healthy co-parenting can test any relationship, especially in the early years and in families with several young children.  Committed partners need to support each other and have a coherent, united approach as they help their children develop appropriate boundaries, attitudes and behaviors to be successful in an increasingly complex world.

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Research has shown that the healthier and more cooperative that the parents' relationship is, the less their children tend to struggle with inappropriate behaviors.  I help spouses minimize their conflicts with children by developing a mutually acceptable approach based on positivity, deeper listening, and an emotional intelligence.  This begins in the parents' relationship which is in turn modeled for the children.  As the children see their parents engaged in giving appreciations, working though disagreements, and presenting a united front, they auto-matically begin to feel more emotional safety, calm down, and make better choices.  Effective marital counseling can definitely provide this.

Blended families, in which children from the partners' previous marriages are raised in the same household with a step-parent present another level of challenges.  Empowering the non-biological parent to assume a co-equal position which is respected by the children is necessary but not always easy to achieve.  Often there are unresolved feelings about a previous divorce which are projected on the new partners by the children and/or the ex-spouse.  Until these feelings are clarified or worked through in therapy, it is difficult for the new partners to achieve the intimacy they deserve and for the new partners to be effective co-parents.  I provide effective marital therapy along with a mix of family counseling which develops a roadmap for navigating the complex feelings and custody challenges which blended families can encounter.

Couples Clinic Marin

500 Tamal Plaza, Suite 528

Corte Madera, CA 94925

Timothy  West, Ph.D., MFT

(415) 892-7330

Dr.West@CouplesClinicMarin.com

  Dr. Timothy West, a Marriage & Family Therapist, provides couples counseling through-out Marin County, California. With offices located in Corte Madera, he also serves the communities of Sausalito, Mill Valley, Tiburon, Greenbrae, Larkspur, Kentfield, Ross, San Anselmo, Fairfax, San Rafael, Terra Linda, and Novato.

Co-parenting can be a challenging task...