Stepfather: Where Is the Accent Placed in This Compound Word?

Abstract

This article delineates therapeutic directions for counselors providing service to stepfamilies and, particularly, stepfathers. In the first section, an analysis of the professional literature confirms the numbers of stepfamilies nationwide, resulting in their presence of the caseload of counselors regardless of counseling setting. The second segment presents current conceptualizations of the determination of the role of the biological father–child relationship in determining the “fathering role” of the stepfather. Then, the practical directions section discusses clinical interventions with the children and biological father, the biological mother and the stepfather, and then the stepfamily as whole in the crystallization of the fathering role of the stepfather. This proposed treatment orientation is supported by implications for future study toward confirming its theoretical and therapeutic efficacy.