"The more you’re loving and understanding, the more your kids will sing."
- Maxime Lagacé
Family Issues
Read my blog post on family stress
The Mindful Family: Reducing Stress During Transitional Periods
Parenting Issues
Do you have a rebellious or disengaged teen who just won't listen? Are you worried about how to help get him or her on track but feel like what you've tried, the communication, is just not working? Our therapists have extensive training and experience working on parenting issues and approaches to help tackle tough problems with families opening communication and changing behavior. In some cases, the problem may not be one parents' approach but that both parents may not agree or be taking different approaches simultaneously. This often known as co-parenting. As a family therapist, our therapists have worked to help parents to identify their particular parenting approaches, the effects these differing approaches are having, and how to build common ground without sacrificing the values each parent has related to their child's growth and development.
Transitional Issues
As we continue along in our lives, things change. Changes to the family makeup such as a pregnancy, adoption, divorce, or remarrying (creating a blended family). In other cases, someone may get new job with different hours or demands impacting the family. Other times, the family may decide to move to a new home, maybe even a new town. These life changes can all have great influences on a family and though often made to improve or bring more joy, can also bring new family problems and adjustments. Our therapists have extensive experience in family therapy to help families adjust to these types of new events shifting dynamics to form a cohesive and agreeable understanding/future.
Extended Family Issues
Do you have family members who you struggle to see eye to eye with? Is the communication broken down or at a cutoff or standstill? Unfortunately, people can care but also seem to make things complicated or stressful in your life. Sometimes family members try to help or vice versa us but the "help" just seems to make things worse adding to the problems we already have. Some people feel between "a rock and a hard place" when they want to confront the person but are also worried about what impact it may have across the extended family. Will people think I'm being rude, making a big deal out of nothing, give me grief about it? These are some common questions people struggle with. Our therapists have worked with many individuals and/or their families in family therapy to resolve these types of family issues. In some cases, the issue might not be happening now but something that happened in the past that they can't seem to move on from. This creates continued distress and tension in the family until resolved individually in counseling or with family members.