STEPFAMILY ASSESSMENT - AN INTEGRATED MODEL

The increase in the number of stepfamilies in our society is reflected in the high number of stepfamilies requesting help in mental health f acilities and social agencies. The rationale for developing a model fo r assessing remarried families comes from an awareness of the complexi ties of remarried families and of the difficulty therapists have in as sessing and organizing all relevant information. We do not imply any p articular method to assess the families; we are simply suggesting a fo rmat which needs to be in the mind of the therapist when interviewing the family or a family member. Our model emphasizes particular aspects of remarried family life that play a crucial role in the successful a djustment of the remarried family, such as the resolution of the previ ous relationship, the influence of the outside parent, the co-parental relationship, the mobility of the children between households, and th e integration of the new partner. Our assessment model is divided into two parts: (1) The psychosocial history completed by the family; (2) The assessment of the stepfamily by the therapist. This includes the a ssessment of the functioning of the stepfamily based on Steinhauer's P rocess Model. Our model helps therapists to conceptualize the problems and the strength of the stepfamily. The active participation of the s tepfamily in the process of assessment facilitates the development of treatment goals and the therapeutic contract. This paper only includes the functional assessment of the stepfamily. The psychosocial history questionnaire is available from the authors upon request.