Family Therapy

Have you ever sat down around the dining room table, looked at the other members of your family, and immediately bit your tongue in silence?  Perhaps you’re the parent in this picture and nothing you can say to your young-adult or teenage child comes off right.  They tell you again and again that you just “don’t get it.” And if not said directly with words, they emphatically announce it with their attitude and cohabiting behaviors (picking verbal fights, breaking house rules, or struggling to maintain psychological or physical health).  

But maybe you’re on the other side of this table (perhaps as an adult yourself and/or living back home due to life circumstances) and you’re exhausted from frayed relationships with your siblings and arguments with your parents that leave everyone on edge, upset, and feeling misunderstood.  It’s become a challenge to enjoy being together and it has been this way for too long.

Whether you are in the midst of conflict and need help traversing difficult terrain, or just desire to move into deeper spaces of connection with other family members, therapy can be a powerful tool to create new ways of being together. 

What I aim to do with my families is create a space that fosters growth and healing through more effective forms of communication.  I do this by helping individuals to share their lived experience in meaningful ways that can be received by others.  I also teach emotion communication skills, which decrease conflict and allow for the safe exploration of challenging topics.  Families function best when they can navigate friction in healthy ways: members make room for the perspective of others while still finding and holding onto their own voice.  Together, I believe we can find the balance.

Many of my families start therapy with the intention(s) to:

• Increase wellbeing and peace in the home
• Decrease conflict
• Learn ways of speaking that cultivate connection and decrease triggering responses
• Foster a sense of community and spirit between family members
• Help one or more family members to feel less depressed, anxious, or alone
• Heal intergenerational wounds involving racism, religion, family secrets, and other topics