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84. Healing Family Trauma, with Abbey Williams

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

Release Date: 05/16/2024

101. What Stepkids Think About Their Stepparents - And Why It Matters show art 101. What Stepkids Think About Their Stepparents - And Why It Matters

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

Ever Wondered What Your Stepchildren Think About You? Kids can be tricky for stepparents to navigate. Their behavior isn't rational, they don't know how to express their emotions, and sometimes they can take out their frustration on the person who can be the easiest target: stepmom. But there's more to the story, and that's what we're talking about in this episode. We've got one of the top stepfamily researchers with us, and he's recently released a new look at the stepfamily dynamic - from the kids' perspectives.  He's got some really interesting, insightful, and surprising, findings...

info_outline 100. Looking Back on 100 Episodes: The Lessons That Matter Most show art 100. Looking Back on 100 Episodes: The Lessons That Matter Most

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

🎉🎉We're 100! 🎉🎉 Today's episode is all about celebrating our big milestone - we have hit one hundred episodes! It's been a wild ride for these first hundred episodes and I am so honored that you've joined me to explore so many different topics that impact stepmoms. There's still so much to talk about, so I hope you'll come along for the next hundred episodes! Today we're going through some of the biggest lessons I've learned in these first hundred episodes. The lessons aren't all related to stepmom life - but they are all helpful for taking a look at your mindset, your stepmom...

info_outline 99. Family Law Essentials for Stepmoms: A Conversation with Maria Simon show art 99. Family Law Essentials for Stepmoms: A Conversation with Maria Simon

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

Family Law Insights From a Real Housewives' Lawyer In today's episode, we’re getting into all the legal things around stepfamily life with an award-winning family law expert who has represented many high-profile clients in their divorces, including Ashley Darby of the Real Housewives of Potomac. About Maria: This week, I'm talking to a rockstar and award-winning attorney in the family law area. She is Managing Partner at the Geller Group and specializes in family law, divorce, custody disputes, collaborative divorce, and litigation.  Maria has been continually recognized as Virginia...

info_outline 98. Every Other Weekend: A Son's Reflection On Stepfamily Life with Judge Anthony J. Mohr show art 98. Every Other Weekend: A Son's Reflection On Stepfamily Life with Judge Anthony J. Mohr

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

Stepfamily Life From A Son's Perspective This week's guest isn't a stepmom. But he does have an interesting take on stepfamily life. Judge and author Anthony J. Mohr grew up with a father who had been a well-known radio actor who descended to the Hollywood B-list with the advent of television, and a stepfather who was a wealthy and successful businessman. In his award-winning book, , Anthony discusses how he found his place between the two contrasting worlds while coming of age during a time when divorce was rare and often viewed as shocking. About Anthony: Anthony J. Mohr served for 26 years...

info_outline 97. A Sober Look At (Step)Mommy Wine Culture, with Casey Davidson show art 97. A Sober Look At (Step)Mommy Wine Culture, with Casey Davidson

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

How does "mommy wine culture" impact stepmoms? This week's episode is different than others - in the most interesting way! We're talking to top Life & Sobriety Coach Casey Davidson about drinking. It felt like a timely topic given the U.S. Surgeon General's around alcohol - plus, Casey has a refreshing, non-"preachy" take on sobriety. We talk about how to hit pause on reaching for that glass of wine at the end of a hard day - and why it might just be the best thing you do for yourself. About Casey: Casey McGuire Davidson is a Life & Sobriety Coach and the host of the Top 100 Mental...

info_outline 96. A Better Marriage Starts With A Better You, with Casey & Megan Caston show art 96. A Better Marriage Starts With A Better You, with Casey & Megan Caston

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

"If you want a better marriage, it starts with a better you" (there may be affiliate links in this post - for more about what that means, click ) Our guests this week are known for their clever and relatable social media videos - but they are much more than that. Casey and Meygan Caston, founders of , offer up some great relationship advice for couples. In today's episode, they give us their top tips for good communication, and you'll enjoy hearing their story.  And they've offered a special $250 discount for our listeners to their annual marriage retreat happening October 2-5, 2025. You...

info_outline 95. Stepfamily Holidays: Scrooge-Proof Your Season show art 95. Stepfamily Holidays: Scrooge-Proof Your Season

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

The Stepfamily Holiday season can be filled with landmines. Let's tackle them one at a time. If you’ve ever felt like the holidays in a stepfamily are more stress than joy, this episode is for you. We're going to talk about some of the hardest things that come up for stepmoms during the holidays - and I'm going to give you some tips to help make it through. And if you'd like more support for the holidays, I'm hosting a special live class called From Humbug To Happy next week inside the . It will be an interactive hour filled with Q&A - and you'll walk away with practical strategies to...

info_outline 94. Smooth Talking: Improving Communication, One Step At A Time show art 94. Smooth Talking: Improving Communication, One Step At A Time

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

Stepfamily Communication Is Complicated. But Does It Have To Be? In this episode, we go back to a topic that comes up over and over again with the stepfamilies I work with: communication. We'll talk about why communication is so much more challenging in a stepfamily than in a first family, and a few things you can do to improve it.  And I've got a freebie for you to help with your communication. will give you the exact words to use when you're trying to talk about some of these tricky stepfamily topics. For additional support, join me in Alexandria, VA January 24-25th for - it will be a...

info_outline 93. What DOES Work In Stepfamilies, According To Research show art 93. What DOES Work In Stepfamilies, According To Research

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

What Do We Know About What DOES Work In Stepfamilies? In this episode, I'm joined by one of the preeminent stepfamily scholars in the world, Larry Ganong, Ph.D., who is out with a new book, called What Works In Stepfamilies: Creating And Maintaining Satisfying And Effective Relationships.  He also happens to sit on the Stepfamily Solutions advisory board and if you've attended any of our past Stepmom Summits, you'll remember him as one of our speakers.  The two coauthors of What Works In Stepfamilies are his wife, Marilyn Coleman, Ed.D., who is a celebrated researcher with an...

info_outline 92. Stepfamily Resilience in Crisis: Addressing the Emotional Toll of War show art 92. Stepfamily Resilience in Crisis: Addressing the Emotional Toll of War

The Stepmom Diaries Podcast

How Does The Daily Trauma of War Impact Stepfamilies? The trauma inflicted on stepfamilies is an aspect of war not often considered - but has a very real impact. In this episode, we are talking with Sigal Kaplan, a family counselor in Israel specializing in blended families. Sigal has done groundbreaking and captivating work around the impact of the ongoing war on Israeli stepfamilies. About Sigal: Sigal Kaplan is a family counselor specialist who works with stepfamilies, as well as families dealing with divorce. She teaches a course at Kibbutzim College for counselors and educators about...

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How to break the cycle of relational trauma

Today I'm talking to Abbey Williams, LSW about estrangements and healing to break the cycle of generational trauma.

Abbey spoke at our recent Stepmom Summit (the Summit is over but you can still access the presentations for a few more days with an Ultimate Access Pass)

About Abbey:

Abbey is a Trauma Therapist + Estrangement Expert, Founder of You, The Mother, Coach, Co-Founder of The Estrangement Project, Co-Founder of The Parenting with Trauma Project, and mother of 4. For over 10 years, Abbey has provided direct clinical and coaching services to individuals seeking healing from relational trauma. She writes and speaks about various parenting, relational, and mental health topics. 

Abbey focuses on helping moms heal from their childhood wounding, navigate difficult family dynamics, estrangement, and breaking generational trauma. She is committed to supporting, empowering, and connecting with her community by providing accessible information on her podcast, "You, The Mother Podcast," social media platforms, coaching, support groups, healing book club, retreats, and webinars for people all over the world. 

She has been featured by PopSugar, Parents, SheKnows, and Romper, and was named a top 50 parenting podcast by Podcast Magazine. 

Abbey navigates her blended family/coparenting life in Cincinnati, OH with her husband, four kids, and two sister labs.

You Can Find Abbey:

On Instagram: @youthemother

On her website, youthemother.com

Links Mentioned In Today's Episode

Get your Ultimate Access Pass and get access to the Stepmom Summit HERE!

Got a question for me or something you're struggling with in your stepfamily life? Submit a question to be answered on a future podcast episode HERE

Want to go deeper into coparenting, finding your own peace, and other blended family challenges? Join the Stepfamily Circle HERE