Family Therapy

“We all live in the shelter of each other”  according to an old Irish saying.  Our joys and our wounds are embedded in family. It is a privilege that families allow me to assist them in ways known to be effective.  Together we build realistic plans to achieve the results they want-and to maintain those results into the future.

Family Therapy What Is It?

Family therapy brings parents, siblings and extended family members into the therapy process. Your family has its own structure and patterns of communication, which may be defined by parenting style, personalities and other influences. Family plays an important role in our emotional, physical and spiritual development since each individual in the family system impacts and is impacted by the others. For example, one person’s illness can change the lives and interactions of all the other family members.

What are the benefits of Family Therapy?

Evaluating issues in family therapy can help an individual:

• Understand how their family functions
• Identify strengths and weaknesses within the family system
• Set goals and develop strategies to resolve challenges
• Improve communication skills
• Make the entire family stronger

When the whole family grows, each individual member is better off. Anyone seeking healthier, closer family relationships can benefit from family therapy. Family therapy is used to treat a wide range of situations, including:

• Marital problems 
• Parent-child conflict
• Remarried families-Bringing understanding to complex relationships.
• The effects of illness on the family
• Creating a co-parenting team to manage issues that may bring chronic conflict into your home
• Empty nest couples- Committing to rediscovering each other
• Couples at retirement-Create and explore new dreams for the next stage of your lives. 

Are we having fun yet? 
When my kids were little, I once helped plan a community party and was amazed by the results. No one danced on the bar but there was a definite air of abandon in the normally muted crowd. Mainly it was the women-they were funny and alive with possibilities. I was way puzzled until I realized that the kids had just gone back to school after winter break. How great to see them having fun. It isn't a fun that can last though, so it was a bit sad.  I realized we as parents struggle more than we care to admit. It lifts the curtain on what a day to day grind parenting can be. Few of us would deny there  are days we feel joyless and somewhat overwhelmed.

What to expect in a Family Session

I would like to help your family "tune-up" and recharge. In a no-charge 15 minute phone call, we will clarify your family's needs and priorities. Once we have determined the family members who are most impacted and also willing to commit to the process, we will plan weekly sessions. For example if your child or teen is involved, initial sessions may include them and later be just parent or parents. Helping family members  identify the issues that are of the most immediate concern frees them to seek win-win solutions. Skills necessary to implement the plan will be practiced in session and reviewed for feedback from family members. I have yet to encounter a family that did not say they benefited from family therapy. You don't have to go it alone and things usually turn out better when you don't.