Family Therapy

Making the decision to seek family counseling can feel overwhelming and even nerve-racking. You may have various questions about the process, such as: will it be helpful?, Will I or my family be judged? Am I to blame for what’s happening in my family? You may have considered it in the past, but for whatever reason, decided against it. If this is you, or someone in your family, you can find relief in knowing that you are in the right place and have taken a huge first step in helping your family thrive. You’re here for a reason! Let’s help you all move forward towards a happier and healthier family life!

 

Common reasons for family therapy

• Adjustment to a new family member in such as the birth of a sibling or adoption

• Children coping with divorce

• Parental child-rearing conflict

• Child behavioral problems at home and school

 

• Therapy Approach

  • Utilizing an attachment-based and trauma-informed perspective, family therapy is focused on:

    • Teaching all members of the family developmentally appropriate communication skills 

    • Enhancing and/or repairing relationships destroyed by arguments or trauma.

    • Developing and maintaining healthy boundaries and roles in the family

    • Improving problem-solving skills between family members

    • Understanding how family interactions affect each member of the family

    • Identifying patterns that are keeping the family “stuck” and experiencing the same negative interactions “over and over again”.

 

The Process:

• Family therapy is different from individual therapy, as the entire family is viewed as the “client”. What does this mean? Instead of focusing on only one family member’s challenges, the family as a whole will be invited to work together in addressing communication barriers, negative interaction cycles, increasing togetherness, setting and enforcing healthy role boundaries, problems solving sources of tension and arguments, and learning effective coping skills. Throughout the process, we remain neutral and act as a “moderator”, providing unbiased feedback and educated assessments.

• Family sessions are for multiple family members and can include two or more members, including a child, parent(s), and/or siblings. Depending on the age(s) of children involved, play is often used. The goals of family therapy include, but are not limited to, addressing child behavioral and emotional challenges, family conflict, and family stress. ​