Maurice Sendak said, "It is sometimes hard to be a family."
Being in a family requires a lot of work and a lot of love. It is in our families where we first recognize our strengths and talents and learn about trust. Our families can provide hope and encourage us to reach out to the world.
Families work best when they provide stability, but are still flexible and open to change when needed. Family members are most comfortable when everyone takes responsibility for their own feelings, understands the need for boundaries, and learns how to set limits.
There are countless types of families: one to four parents (single parent, blended and divorcing families); multi-generational, biracial and adoptive; heterosexual, gay and transgender.
Families are like puzzles, with a lot of moving parts.
People generally seek out family therapy when something goes wrong: they suffer a loss, there’s an academic or social concern with a child or adolescent, or a family member’s behavior becomes difficult to understand.
I really like to work with families. People come for lots of reasons from wanting to fight less (and hug more) or to figure out how to talk to each other in a way that everyone feels heard. Sometimes there has been a loss, an academic or social concern, or a family member’s behavior that is hard to figure out.
Some reasons people seek family therapy are:
Losses such as a death, divorce and physical moves
Changes like remarriage and blended families
Parental challenges related to behavioral, academic, social and developmental/medical challenges
Different parenting styles
Repeated family arguments without resolutions and communication difficulties
The need to set rules and limits which work
The benefits of family therapy can include:
A greater understanding of family rules and the need for clear boundaries
Learning ways to reduce conflict and find peaceful solutions
An increase in co-parenting skills
A quieter and happier life at home with less negative interactions
Increased parental knowledge of their children’s emotional growth and development needs
“We are so much better at saying thank you to each other.”