Family Therapy

Problems in families create strife.

Yelling, hiding, and blaming may be part of the family’s norm.

Communication is at a standstill, and resentment is on the increase.

Family interactions are a constant tug of war with no clear winners – both sides lose.

If any of this sounds familiar, please know that family therapy offers a win-win alternative.

Envisioning Family Therapy

When many envision family therapy, they picture a tense family gathered on couches in a family therapist’s office, clutching couch cushions and resenting being in the same room.

Families have their share of challenges and resentments, and they bring all negative feelings with them to family counseling.

At its best, though, a choice to seek family therapy is the beginning of the end of those resentments.

In most families who seek a family therapist, there’s a leader – someone who’s found a family therapist and seek help on behalf of the family.

Effective communication starts the healing process.

Families can be terrible at listening to one another, and the rifts last for a long time.

In family therapy, I help shift the paradigm from individual tugging (how can we meet everyone’s needs?) to group contributions (what does the family need?).

One of my roles is to help each family member see the others as they are, rather than who they want them to be. Once family members relate to each other that way, rifts often heal.

Objectively Identifying the Problem

How do we identify a problem in family therapy? This question is at the core.

Nearly always, this identification is implicit – most of the time, families don’t say, “Jimmy is the problem in our family.” And yet, we often act that way.

To be clear, individuals bring challenges and can be hurtful in families and elsewhere. But there’s value in looking at everything (we might say) systemically – meaning understanding what “Jimmy” (or whoever) is doing in the context of how the family works together as a whole.

Working together keeps families together.

Let me help your family learn open and honest communication where every member has an equal say.

It’s about what the family needs for healing.

Call me at (615) 636-1637 today!