Is Your Family Struggling With Communication Or Conflict?
Are stresses, career changes or trouble with a move creating tension between family members? Do you become anxious, irritable or depressed when you spend time with your family? Has your family dynamic shifted after the loss of a job or loved one? Maybe changes in family roles, responsibilities, size or who lives in the household has created conflict and tension. Or perhaps you are struggling with personal or relationship difficulties that are affecting – or are affected by – your family. You or a family member may be dealing with substance abuse, a mental health disorder, a disability or the fallout from personal challenges like divorce, domestic abuse or self-harm. Perhaps a family member has just come out of the closet or changed their gender identity and other family members are struggling with that. Or maybe disharmony and/or disconnection has occurred following a traumatic event like a burglary or house fire. Do you wish your family could overcome conflict, learn to understand one another and get along?
If you’re trying to work through personal or relationship challenges in individual or couples counseling, it may have become apparent that specific issues need to be addressed with members of your family or the entire family unit. Perhaps you suffer from anxiety that relates to particular family members or events. Or you may be struggling with relationship and co-parenting difficulties, and it would be beneficial to have your children there as a part of your work. Healthy interactions and relationships with your family can make it easier to work toward individual and couples goals, but you may not know how to foster such loving, respectful connections with your family members. While you may want to experience peace and harmony within your family, ongoing tension, conflicts and disconnection may have you wondering if it’s possible to find balance with your family and achieve your personal and relationship goals.
Many Families Benefit From Family Therapy
Tension and stress within families builds for a variety of reasons. Sharing children and assets, having a new baby, planning a wedding or the illness or death of a family member can create upsets and miscommunications within even the most connected family system. And, without healthy outlets for expression, stressful family events can create distance and change the family dynamic. Additionally, personal and relationship challenges often are rooted in unresolved family conflict. Left unaddressed, the feelings created by stress and unresolved conflicts can create frustration, increased disconnection and overall feelings of unease.
The good news is there is help. More and more families are engaging in family therapy in order to understand and work through disagreements and difficulties. While some families begin therapy as a whole group and consistently work together as a group, an individual or couple may bring in family members for a limited number of sessions as a part of their own healing process.
You and your family’s goals are specific to your situation; you choose how to define what family is and where the conflict lies. As your family therapist, I can help you can work together to resolve conflict, improve communication and achieve your personal, relationship and family goals.
Family Therapy Can Help You And Your Family Find Healing And Stability
I believe in focusing on your family system as a whole. When you are committed to healing and growing together, family therapy can help you improve communication, decrease conflict and enjoy more effective interactions. By establishing norms you can all agree with and adhere to, you can enjoy greater stability and increase the level of love and support in your family.
I offer a comfortable, safe healing space and compassionate counseling to help mediate and resolve conflict, identify harmful patterns of interaction and make sure everyone feels heard. I do my utmost to be sensitive to your family’s culture, background and viewpoints. I tailor your family therapy goals and approach to your situation and needs. Using a solution-focused and “family systems” approach, our work together will include the family as a whole, However, I often meet with members separately before bringing everyone together. This allows me to better understand each family member’s particular perspectives and each member’s role in the current or ongoing conflict.
Family therapy sometimes involves shorter-term work – as little as four sessions – and my approach is tailored to your family’s specific issues and goals. I am trained to help you identify and understand dysfunctional coping mechanisms and patterns of behavior. Throughout the sessions, I can help your family develop effective communication skills. Each member of your family can learn how to express difficult thoughts and emotions, make useful changes to relationships and build on strengths as an individual and as part of the whole family. Family members can also learn to recognize each person’s viewpoint, or internal truth, and move past conflict with greater empathy.
With family therapy, you and your family can improve communication, resolve conflict and find healing and stability.
But you may still have questions or concerns about family therapy…
What if someone who’s important in the family system doesn’t want to come?
Family therapy is most effective when everyone who is involved in the problem attends. If one member refuses to come to family therapy, I will suggest steps you can take to help encourage him or her to attend. Or, with your permission, I will talk with him or her directly to try and work through the fear or concerns that are keeping him or her from joining you in family therapy. This family member needs to feel heard and respected. It isn’t unusual for someone to resist therapy at the start and then decide to join in down the road.
Won’t family therapy take a long time? We need answers right now!
I understand that many difficulties between family members are of a serious or time-sensitive manner. The good news is that often just a few sessions can help improve family relationship dynamics. The amount of time it takes your family to reach its therapy goals will depend on a variety of factors, including your family members’ goals, ability to communicate and the amount of conflict you are dealing with. But, in many cases, family members begin seeing a big difference in as little as three or four sessions.
Our problem is unsolvable…
Many families face serious challenges without ever being able to identify or understand the root cause, or why the problem remains. But, that doesn’t mean the problem is unsolvable. I am trained and highly experienced in helping families to resolve their problems. I can provide guidance and support as you identify and work toward solutions that can work for everyone involved.
Your Family Can Discover Health And Harmony
Are you and your family ready to begin working towards healing and stability? I invite you to schedule a free 20-minute phone consultation . I am happy to discuss your specific needs and address any questions you have about how I work with families in family therapy.
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