Counseling in extended families

Extended families, mainly resulting from divorce or widowhood, are now a common form of family life.

This particular family structure arises when both partners decide to pursue a common life together with their children from their previous relationships. A large number of children will be members of an extended family before they reach adulthood. This modern form of family extends its boundaries to include the dynamics and interactions of many families linked together through legal or informal partnerships.

Extended families constitute the multi-faceted and complex families of the postmodern era. In these families, emotional ties and communication are central regulatory mechanisms that ensure that the needs of their members are met whatever the form of cohabitation.
But how easy is it to create the conditions for these families to welcome all the complexity, richness and specificity introduced by their members, children and adults? Counseling is one way of ensuring the framework for the functional coexistence and mutual support of all the members who make up the extended family.