Counselors working with couples who are planning to marry come from a broad array of interdisciplinary backgrounds. The largest portion of this type of counseling is currently provided by clergy. This one volume handbook and training manual for professionals presents a coherent approach for the practice of counseling prior to marriage that draws…

A model for counseling dual career families depicts the interaction of four factors: the central life interests of the couple, their gender role orientation, the stresses experienced in balancing work and family roles, and the coping mechanisms used. Counselors can help devise strategies to achieve career advancement as well as career, family, and…

Intended to help speech communication professionals become involved in developing, implementing, and evaluating marital or family enrichment programs, this booklet discusses the theory and practice of using marital enrichment programs to increase family harmony. The first section contains an overview of selected enrichment programs, as well as…

Because of the significant rates of divorce and remarriage in the United States, the stepfamily is becoming an increasingly mainstream way of life alongside the traditional nuclear family structure. This book is an essential guide for understanding an individual's multiple family roles as well as the emotional and psychological nuances within…

Intended to help families build rewarding relationships, this set of audio tapes communicates the importance of family, shows the role of leadership in creating "beautiful family culture," and provides a frame of reference in which to solve problems. The first of the four tapes explores the concept of principles as the foundation of…

At mid-life, almost every marriage undergoes a crisis, but most people are looking for a way to get through this crisis, and not for a way out of the marriage. This monograph examines the basic issues surrounding mid-life divorce. Several different perspectives are represented in this collection of articles as various clinicians discuss the…

Based on interviews with hundreds of remarried men and women, this guide to stepparenting realistically acknowledges the fears, doubts, and difficulties that affect the stepparenting situation, and offers practical help and insight into the many accompanying challenges and rewards. Following an introduction that acknowledges how few role-models…

Ways to establish or improve ministries to African American families and ways to make the church a training center for outreach, prevention, enrichment, and problem solving are explored. Part 1 addresses the spiritual challenge, and points out that the pastor's family is looked on as a model family, and that pastors must learn to be better spouses…

Noting that the failure rate of second (and subsequent) marriages is higher than that for first-time marriages, this book addresses the major issues confronting members of stepfamilies. Drawing on case studies and experiences with a broad range of stepfamily situations, the book provides valuable insights and practical advice to help stepfamilies…