BLENDED FAMILY THERAPY · CALIFORNIA
Build a connected family without forcing everyone into the same role.
Structured, compassionate therapy for couples and families navigating remarriage, stepparenting, co-parenting, divided loyalties, household rules, former partners, and relationships between children and stepparents.
BLENDED FAMILY THERAPY · CALIFORNIA
Build a connected family without forcing everyone into the same role.
Structured, compassionate therapy for couples and families navigating remarriage, stepparenting, co-parenting, divided loyalties, household rules, former partners, and relationships between children and stepparents.
Thousand Oaks Office · Virtual Throughout California
GOTTMAN LEVEL III
LMFT #51009
20+ YEARS PRIVATE PRACTICE
FORTUNE 500 BACKGROUND
HIPAA TELEHEALTH · CA-WIDE
What blended families counseling & therapy is about
Create a family where every person has a place, a voice, and a sense of belonging.
- Strengthen the couple’s relationship and parenting partnership
- Clarify the roles of parents, stepparents, and co-parents
- Reduce conflict over discipline and household expectations
- Help children adjust without pressuring them to feel differently
- Navigate loyalty conflicts involving parents and stepparents
- Establish healthier boundaries with former partners
- Address differences in parenting styles and family traditions
- Build trust and connection gradually across the family
“I cannot recommend Marina Edelman highly enough. As the best marriage therapist I have ever worked with, she stands out due to her extensive training and experience, which far surpasses that of a typical therapist.”
“She has helped me with all sorts of areas in my life: career paths, family stuff, parenting, relationships etc. I really do owe a lot of my success to Marina and her patience, knowledge, and heart.”
SPECIALTIES
What I Do Best
Personalized therapy to help you heal, strengthen relationships, and improve your emotional well-being.
01
Couples & Marriage Therapy
- Evidence-based work for couples at any stage — from chronic conflict to disconnection to the brink of separation.
Learn more →
02
Affair Recovery & Infidelity Therapy
- Structured recovery from betrayal. Whether you’re deciding to stay or leave, the process is supported and clear.
Learn more →
03
Emotional and Physical Intimacy
- Rebuilding closeness and connection when distance has settled in — emotionally, mentally, physically, or both.
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FOR BLENDED FAMILIES
Bringing families together takes more than love—it takes patience, clarity, and realistic expectations.
Blended families are formed with hope, but every person enters the new family carrying different relationships, routines, losses, loyalties, and expectations.
A stepparent may be eager to create connection while a child needs more time. A biological parent may feel caught between protecting their child and supporting their partner. Former partners may continue to affect schedules, rules, finances, and family decisions. Even small disagreements can begin to represent deeper questions about authority, belonging, fairness, and whose needs matter most.
Marina helps couples and families understand these dynamics without identifying one person as the problem. Therapy provides a structured space to clarify roles, reduce conflict, strengthen the couple’s partnership, and allow new relationships to develop at a sustainable pace.
What sets this work apart
Realistic expectations about how slowly blended-family relationships may develop
No pressure for children to immediately accept a stepparent as a parent
Practical guidance for parenting, discipline, household expectations, and boundaries
Clear attention to loyalty conflicts, grief, changing roles, and belonging
Support for protecting the couple’s relationship without overlooking children’s needs
Recognition that fairness does not always mean treating every family member identically
Structured conversations that help families address conflict without assigning blame
Confidential telehealth throughout California—no waiting rooms
SERVICES
How I Do It
The steps I take to make sure that you are getting the support you need.
01
Strengthen the Couple’s Partnership
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I help partners discuss parenting expectations, discipline, household responsibilities, finances, and boundaries before disagreements divide the family.
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Together, we build a stronger parental partnership while making room for each person’s responsibilities to their children and existing family relationships.
02
Clarify Roles and Expectations
- We define the roles of biological parents, stepparents, and co-parents based on the family’s circumstances rather than assumptions about how everyone should behave.
- I help families develop realistic expectations for authority, affection, discipline, privacy, and connection without forcing immediate closeness.
03
Build Trust Across the Family
- I create space for children and adults to express concerns about loss, loyalty, fairness, change, and belonging without being blamed or dismissed.
- Together, we develop practical routines, boundaries, and opportunities for connection that allow trust to grow through consistency rather than pressure.
ABOUT ME
Marina Edelman, LMFT
Couples Therapist in California
Marina Edelman is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the founder of TrueMe® Counseling, a couples and relationship therapy practice serving clients in Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, and throughout California.
Marina specializes in couples therapy, affair recovery, and relationship repair, drawing on a carefully integrated set of evidence-based approaches:
- Gottman Method — Research-based tools for reducing conflict and building friendship and intimacy
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) — Healing attachment injuries and rebuilding emotional safety
- Attachment-Based Therapy — Understanding how early relational patterns shape adult love
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) — Identifying and shifting the thought patterns that fuel disconnection
- AEDP — Processing deep emotional wounds with compassion and precision
Her counseling is best suited for couples and individuals seeking structured, research-backed support for relationship repair, affair recovery, anxiety, communication challenges, and premarital or marriage counseling — in person or via telehealth across California.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
About Blended Family Therapy & Counseling
Here are some of the most frequent questions we receive about this page.
What is blended family therapy?
Blended family therapy supports families formed through remarriage or partnership when one or both adults have children from a previous relationship.
Therapy helps family members navigate changing roles, stepparent relationships, parenting differences, divided loyalties, household expectations, co-parenting, and the emotional adjustments involved in bringing two family systems together.
How long does it take for a blended family to adjust?
There is no single timeline. Connection and trust may develop gradually, particularly when children are also adjusting to divorce, separation, relocation, new siblings, or changes in access to a parent.
Therapy helps families replace unrealistic expectations with practical steps that support security, consistency, and relationships that can grow naturally.
What if my child does not accept my new partner?
Resistance does not necessarily mean the relationship cannot work. A child may be experiencing grief, fear of replacement, loyalty to another parent, discomfort with change, or concern about losing time and closeness with their biological parent.
Therapy helps identify what the resistance represents and develop responses that protect the child’s emotional needs without undermining the adult relationship.
Should a stepparent discipline their stepchildren?
The appropriate role depends on the child’s age, the length and quality of the relationship, the household structure, and the involvement of both biological parents.
In many newer blended families, the biological parent initially takes the lead on major discipline while the stepparent focuses on connection and supports agreed-upon household expectations. Therapy can help couples establish roles that feel clear, respectful, and sustainable.
Is telehealth available throughout California?
Yes. Marina offers confidential telehealth to clients located throughout California, including Los Angeles, Westlake Village, Thousand Oaks, San Francisco, San Diego, and Sacramento.
The appropriate participants and session format may vary depending on the family’s needs, the children’s ages, and the concerns being addressed.
Take the first step toward healing and connection
Not sure where to start? Let’s talk.