Families
Our family lives can be tremendously gratifying and enriching, and a source of invaluable support and belonging. They can also become troubling and chaotic, especially when under the influences of acute or chronic stress. Such responses are often normal, but you benefit from counseling or psychotherapy time to time.
Families seek the support of a psychotherapist for many reasons. Some families begin counseling or psychotherapy in an effort to understand and respond more successfully to the behavioral or emotional needs of one of their children, to become more stable or to cope with the aftermaths of a recent change or crisis.
Blended or step-families may seek the support and guidance of psychotherapy to establish a stronger identity and cohesion as a family, especially if they are grappling with feelings of insecurity about their capacity to become “like a real family,” while other families may need help to establish or restore a more predictable order in their lives … an especially effective strategy in those families troubled by confusion or struggles regarding roles, responsibilities and boundaries, or in need of more internal structure, balance or leadership.
The intrusion of illness and disability may also destabilize a family, especially when a member is sick, or one or more parents become preoccupied with care-giving responsibilities, however even positive events, like the birth or adoption of a child, may precipitate an unexpected surge in feelings that can undermine even the most solidly committed families.
Whatever your need, the process of psychotherapy, may be able to assist you. As we meet, we will try and understand your needs, as well as your hopes and aspirations for your family. Each member of your family will be encouraged to participate and to speak, as we begin to explore ways to restore more well-being and closeness in your lives together.
This process can be tense at times, as feelings are expressed, however it can also help diffuse tensions and promote the resolution of even long-standing conflicts.
If you are seeking support for your family, psychotherapy can also assist you to:
- Develop more insight regarding your problems or difficulties
- Cope with circumstances, such as sibling rivalry, separation, divorce, remarriage, co-parenting, step-parenting, disability, illness, loss, grief, or challenges with schooling
- Manage other crises or stressors impacting your life
- Improve your communication and problem-solving skills
- Identify and develop practices that help nurture a sense of closeness between members of your family
- Understand and help mitigate the effects of intergenerational trauma impacting your life
It can also be helpful with a variety of other situations or circumstance, either pursued alone or in conjunction with other therapeutic processes.
To learn more about my experience as a family therapist, please read the “Experience” section of this web-site. If you have any questions regarding my approach as a psychotherapist, or wish to schedule an initial appointment, please feel free to call me. If I cannot help you, I will gladly refer you to other clinicians offering therapeutic support to families in our community.
Reasons Families Typically Seek Psychotherapeutic Assistance
- A history of abuse
- A history of trauma
- A need for more structure or family cohesion
- Addiction or problematic drug and alcohol use
- Adjustments to change related to losses, separation, divorce, marriage, remarriage, relocation, financial or employment stresses or other circumstances
- Adjustments to the birth or adoption of a child
- Adjustment to and management of the impacts of chronic illness and disability
- Adolescent individuation
- Care of children with special needs
- Conflicts regarding parenting styles or philosophies
- Difficulties with anger and emotional regulation
- Difficulties with schooling
- Difficulties with step and co-parenting, or creating a blended family
- Divorce
- Grief
- Heightened, irresolvable or habitually distressing conflicts or arguments
- Loss of parental authority and leadership
- Recovery from addiction
- Parenting conflicts or difficulties
- Separation and loss
- Sibling rivalry
- The need to develop better coping and problem-solving skills
- The stress of care-giving – for a child, spouse or extended family member or parent
- The stress of transitions
- The transition of children to adolescence and adulthood
If you wish to know whether I have experience with a particular concern or need you are experiencing, please feel free to call me for an initial telephone consultation. The “What to Expect” and “Approach” sections included in this web-site may also be helpful in answering any questions you might have about my orientation and background as a psychotherapist.