This is self-work and I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford.

At self-work we'll discuss psychological and emotional issues common in today's world

and what to do about them.

I'm Dr. Margaret and self-work is a podcast dedicated to you taking just a few minutes today for your own self-work.

Hi and welcome to self-work. I'm Dr. Margaret Rutherford. I'm a clinical psychologist out of Fayetteville, Arkansas.

I've been in practice for over 25 years and decided to extend the walls of my practice a couple of years ago and start this

podcast. I'd already been a blogger for about four years at that time and was finding such

joy because I think people have misconceptions about therapy and I want to try to

correct those misconceptions and any stigma that might exist about getting

treatment for whatever mental illness or relationship problems. that might be

exist about getting treatment for whatever mental illness or relationship

problems you might be having.

There may be some of you who are very comfortable

with psychological issues and are already in therapy.

There may be some of you who are new to a diagnosis

and are searching for answers. And there may be a few of you who've never even considered

talking to a therapist, but you'll listen to a podcast. Today our topic is step parenting.

Step parenting may be the hardest job on Earth. It's very difficult, complicated, frustrating,

and rewarding, but it is really hard to do well. We'll talk about why it's so hard and then we'll talk about four common

mistakes that people make. I like to think of a good step parent as someone who is

choosing to love you. You're not biologically related to

them, but kind of like adoptive parents. They're choosing to love you. And there are things

...