Supporting Families Through Crisis and Transition: Separation, Divorce, and Stepfamilies

When
Friday, April 10, 2026
11:00 AM - 2:00 PM
Location
Online ZOOM

Registration

GWSCSW Member – $75.00
$25 per credit hour
GWSCSW Student/Graduate/Retiree Member – $45.00
$15 per credit hour
Nonmember – $120.00
$40 per credit hour
State Affiliate Member – $75.00

Presenter: Jonah Green, LCSW-C

DC, VA, MD Social Work -- Category 1 | 3.0 CEUs

Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in is DC, Maryland, and Virginia to sponsor social work continuing education learning activities and maintains full responsibility for this program.

NBCC Approved Continuing Education Provider -- 3.0 Credit Hours

Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 7880. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Greater Washington Society for Clinical Social Work is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.

Families who enter therapy are often navigating precarious situations and shifting family dynamics. When separation, divorce, and stepfamily formation enter the picture, challenges multiply—bringing new roles, boundaries, loyalties, and emotional complexities. To support these families effectively, clinicians need to understand the dynamics and developmental tasks that families encounter during these transitions, as well as the specific approaches and interventions that help.

This experiential workshop will provide an overview of the challenges that arise for families undergoing separation, divorce, and stepfamily formation, and equip clinicians with practical, concrete skills to support families in these pivotal moments. Through role-plays, case examples, and interactive exercises, participants will have the opportunity to practice interventions and learn strategies that foster collaboration and resilience in families undergoing profound change.

Clinicians will leave with increased confidence and competence in guiding families through some of the most difficult transitions they face, while helping them build healthier pathways forward.

Workshop Objectives:

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

Name three challenges for families undergoing separation and divorce.
Name three interventions to support families undergoing separation and divorce.
Name three challenges for stepfamilies.
Name three interventions to support stepfamilies to integrate.

Recommended Reading:

For Separation and Divorce:

Two Homes, One Me Austen (2025)
The Co-Parenting Handbook, Bonnell and Little (2017)
Two Homes, One Childhood Emery (2016)
Two Home Families: A Family Systems Approach to Divorce Therapy, Dozier (2004)
Creative Interventions for Children of Divorce, Lowenstein (2006)
Therapy of the Difficult Divorce: Isaacs and Montalvo (2000)

For Stepfamilies:

Queer Stepfamilies: Acosta (2021)
Active Parenting for Stepfamilies, Einstein and Popkin (2007)
The Stepfamily Handbook: Papernow and Bonnell (2020)
Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: Papernow (2013)
Therapy with Stepfamilies: Visher and Visher (2013)

About the Presenter:

www.jgatherapy.com

www.gwscsw.org
PO Box 711 | Garrisonville, VA 22463 | 202-478-7638 | admin@gwscsw.org