Dr. Patricia Papernow is widely recognized as one of the world’s foremost experts on “blended families.”  She is in her fourth decade of working with, learning about, and teaching others about stepfamily relationships.  She is the 2017 recipient of the  Award for Distinguished Contribution to Family Psychology from the American Psychological Association’s Couple and Family Therapy Division.

Dr. Papernow’s second book, Surviving and Thriving in Stepfamily Relationships: What Works and What Doesn’t, has been called “the best book ever written on the subject,” “a remarkable achievement,” and “an incredibly good read.”  It continues to receive rave reviews from both stepfamily members and helping professionals.  Her third book, co-authored with Karen Bonnell The Stepfamily Handbook: From Dating to Getting Serious, to Forming a “Blended Family, combines Karen’s considerable skills as a post-divorce co-parenting coach with Patricia’s deep knowledge of stepfamilies. Together they have created a practical step-by-step guide that takes recoupling parents and their partners from falling in love, to moving wisely toward more commitment, to creating a successful stepfamily.  Dr. Papernow is also the author of over 30 professional articles and book chapters.  She is frequently interviewed by national and local media. Her first book, Becoming a Stepfamily, is also widely recognized as a classic in the field.  Two extremely useful articles can be found in the March, 2018 issue of Family Process.  

Dr. Papernow is a skilled and highly engaging presenter, providing  training and consultation all over the U.S. and internationally. to clinicians, as well as to guidance counselors, pediatricians, nurse practitioners, clergy, lawyers, judges and others who are often on the front lines with  stepfamily challenges.

Dr. Papernow is the Director of the Institute for Stepfamily Education and a psychologist in private practice in Hudson, MA. She divides her time between clinical practice, supervision, and training. As a clinician, Dr. Papernow works primarily in the Internal Family Systems model, also integrating her training in couple and family therapy, Gestalt therapy, attachment, trauma, interpersonal neurobiology, preventive mental health, and learning  disabilities.