There wasn't much contact between Matthew and his father from one visitation to the next, although this had begun to change. Matthew is now ten, his Dad has remarried, and along with a stepmother, Matthew has gained two stepbrothers, stepgrandparents, stepaunts, uncles and cousins. Dad wants Matthew to spend more time with him and his new family. Matthew has fun when he goes to visit, but when he's there, he feels like an outsider. He'd like to be more a part of his Dad's new family.
Mom is scared.
She resents Matthew's father for showing little interest in their son for the first five years of his life and now wanting to spend more time with him. Mom came to realize that her son's life would be richer, more well-rounded, if he had a closer relationship with his Dad. She came to this realization by looking at her own life. He didn't have time for me. She invited Matthew's father to a session with me to talk about this.