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Professor Lisa Doodson is a chartered psychologist and an expert in stepfamily  dynamics. Her extensive research with stepfamilies has given her a unique insight into the common issues faced by many families and individuals. Lisa is happy to work on a consultancy basis within your  business to offer her expertise. Whether it's offering advice in the development of services, offering advice and support to families, or help in carrying our qualitative or quantitative research we are happy to talk to you about how we can support your business. 

Click here to talk to us about how we can work together.

Individual support for employees can be offered through Employee Assistance Programmes to increase their psychological health and wellbeing. The coaching will focus on the issues that the individual perceives to be causing problems in the stepfamily and they will be given advice on how  to effectively address the difficulties and so increase their own wellbeing. For more information on this programme please contact us.

This seminar has been designed to be delivered to an audience at the workplace, either over lunch or immediately after work. It lasts between an hour and an hour and a half and includes a Q and A session.  Participants will learn the differences between stepfamilies and biological families as well as the differences between different types of stepfamilies. They are encouraged to consider their roles in their families and how to develop coping strategies aimed at reducing employee  stress at home and at work.  Individuals who have attended these seminars have found that the course increases their general awareness and understanding and helps them address some of the issues affecting their own family development. For more information or reference sites  please contact us. 

'We are opening up conversations around single parenting within our organisation and encouraging people to reach out to our committee for help and resources. The next logical step seemed to be to look at how we could support blended families and when we came across the Happysteps website we knew Lisa would be ideal! Her presentation style is very open, her statistics are surprising and her words are comforting. The Lunch and Learn presentation fitted well around colleagues' work commitments and there was time at the end for questions. Lisa certainly gave me some tips and ideas to work on and the feedback from others was really positive.'

Louise, Large international bank

'Lisa was very professional and knowledgeable on the subject and  provided extremely useful advice in the seminar.  The seminar was informative and interactive and we received very positive feedback from participants.' 

Sarah Boddey, European Head of Diversity, Barclays Wealth.

Description 

This is a research based programme written by Professor Lisa Doodson that has been specifically designed for individuals who interact with stepfamilies in a professional capacity and need to understand their unique needs in order to provide effective ongoing support an advice. It will also help professionals plan different types of interventions with stepfamilies including 1-1 counselling, mediation and group workshops. The training course lasts for a full day and consists of group and individual exercises to encourage participation and encourage learning. All participants are given a comprehensive handbook which they use  throughout the training course and can take away for future reference. 

Topics Covered within the workshops 

• Latest stepfamily research and statistics
• Identifying stepfamily myths and realities
• Understanding the ambiguity of stepfamily roles and identification of alternative styles
• Developing realistic expectations for the stepfamily
• The importance of the couple relationship
• The spiral of destructive behaviour
• Effective communication
• Identifying and reducing stress and anxiety
• The importance of building an integrated stepfamily
• Learning to recognise and use effective coping strategies

The course has been successfully delivered to a wide range of local authorities and National Charities. For more information or reference site details  please contact us. 

Understanding stepfamilies: A Practical Guide for professionals working with blended families
In this practical, evidence based guide published by McGraw Hill Education, Dr Lisa Doodson offers a valuable resource for professionals working with stepfamilies, giving insight into their unique nature and guidance on how to provide more effective support and advice. In addition to the  wealth of research and knowledge that the book shares, there is a range of case studies which illustrate issues that the different types of stepfamilies frequently face. Each chapter also contains practical tools and exercises that professionals can use with  their clients to help facilitate change in the family unit, as well las interventions including mediation and group workshops and more traditional counselling techniques.

To order please click on the book image above or click here to be taken to Amazon or order directly from McGraw Hill Education (http://www.mheducation.co.uk/catalog/product/view/id/222284/)

How to be a Happy Stepmum

This is the first book written specifically for stepmums. It is packed full of practical tips and  advice for all types of stepmum. Whether you look after your stepchildren all the time or just at weekends, or whether you also have  children of your own or are new to the parenting job, the book offers  specific help based on your unique family makeup. It covers all the  common issues including understanding and developing your relationship with your stepchildren, dealing with resentment and ambiguity, developing an integrated family unit and learning to manage  inevitable relationships with ex partners. The book is based on Lisa's  extensive psychological research on stepfamilies and includes comments and case studies from stepfamilies across the UK who took part in her research. 
To order a copy from Amazon today, just click on this link.