Family Counseling Services in Lakeside, CA.

Family Therapy can offer simple solutions to complex problems that undermine the strength of the family. With the insight and support of a trained therapist you can see self defeating behavior and learn ways to improve your life and the life of family members. Rebuilding the connective tissues of love, intimacy and communication contribute to being happy now rather than being stuck in patterns of resentments, sadness and fears that make happy relationships difficult. Learning to trust yourself and other family members strengthens the bonds that make relationships both meaningful and rewarding. Sometimes going back to the basics of kindness and respect create the profound changes we want.

I specialize in helping families find harmony within the home. I have extensive experience working with individuals, couples, families, and children of all ages. Whether you are dealing with a family conflict, a difficult transition, or a new challenge, I am here to help. My practice focuses on providing a safe and supportive environment for all family members. I will work with you to identify the underlying causes of the conflict and develop strategies for improving family relationships. I believe that all family dynamics are unique and strive to provide each family with the attention and care they need.

Families can be the source of tremendous joy and also the source of tremendous pain. When things are feeling out of control at home or in your extended family, members often become depressed and angry. Emotionally Focused Family Therapy can help transform negative interaction patterns and restore connections. Your family can be a safe place, a place where each member is valued, loved and appreciated for their unique qualities. If you are a family with a Special Needs child, you have specific challenges that can be helped by an experienced therapist. You do not need to navigate this difficult road alone!

Let me guess. One partner feels alone and like they don't matter and the other feels they are always being criticized and can't get anything right. The more one asks for the other to show up, the more the partner disappears physically and emotionally. You both bicker and fight and the idea of sitting and just hanging out seems elusive, if not impossible. Something like this? Often we crave connection but are blocked by the pain and the history that gets in the way. Small fights about little things become battles that highlight our struggle to have our basic relational needs met. I can help you get under the bickering to the parts crying out for connection- to an enriching relationship.

Families engaging in therapy with me will find a compassionate and strong leader who understands the profound stress that family conflicts and perpetual problems can create. My approach is centered on guiding families through their tensions and difficulties, providing a structured and supportive environment where each member feels heard and valued. By focusing on your family's unique dynamics and challenges, I facilitate open communication and collaboration, leading to practical and lasting solutions. Clients will leave with a renewed sense of connection and the tools to foster a more harmonious family life, turning seemingly insurmountable problems into opportunities for growth.

Family therapy looks at the entire family system—parents, children, extended family members—to identify strengths and problematic behaviours. I collaborate with families on strategies for utilizing their own capabilities for resolving problems, and on developing effective communication and problem-solving skills for preventing conflicts. I specialize in working with families of teenagers, which is an age that can be challenging for both the teenagers and their parents.

Family life and family relationships have a profound impact on what we value and what we believe about ourselvles and others. How others in the family treat us and perceive us can significantly affect how we feel about ourselves and how we behave. AS a family therapist, I educate families on how to relate to one another in kind and respectful ways and how to interact with one another in such a way that promotes the emotional well being of each family member. When family life improves many individual problems tend to improve such as anger, depression, substance abuse, work problems, academic problems and child behavior problems.

Imagine a family as a tree with branches, roots, trunk representing parts of the immediate and extended family. When working with families, all elements are considered. Usually there is a request for family therapy due to one of it's members in crisis, often a child. However, when an analysis of need is done it becomes apparent that more than one member of the family needs help in adjusting, growing and learning new behaviours. Clients contact me for a variety of reasons: to improve communications, solve family problems, support in special situations such as death, divorce, marriage, illness, child or adolescent issues.

So the kids are failing school? Your teenager is hostile and defiant? Or is depression undermining your children's success? Whatever the issue, we can identify your family strengths and weaknesses, and make adjustments that will allow your child or teenager to recover and thrive. There is no reason at all to accept failure. My approach firmly establishes parents as "Queen and King of The Castle", lovingly and resolutely leading the Kingdom. Your kids will LOVE YOU for it. And yes, you deserve that love!

The family is the backbone of our society. With this in mind, a healthy functioning family is of great importance. There are many causes to problems and issues that a family faces. Once these problems are identified, then the family and therapist can go to work to resolve the issue and strengthen the family. A family systems approach is an effective way that I have helped families resolve their issues. In looking at the roles or "dance" that each person plays in the family that contributes to the problem, the problem issue can then be focused on and resolved by identifying what each person can do differently to experience the desired outcome of the family.

Family therapy is a wonderful modality to assist families in improving communication, interaction, respect, support or addressing a concern that is impacting the family unit. Family therapy can increase understanding and assist family members in functioning at their optimal level and achieving their individual and family goals. Family therapy can help members and families attain healing needed to process difficult situations and trauma by improving communication, structure and boundaries.

I work within a family framework, but I do not treat families as part of traditional "family therapy." This means that if you are a parent and you struggle with your child's behavior, I can help you learn techniques to manage the behavior better. I have extensive experience working with parents of children with autism and other mental health disorders that can make parenting extremely challenging. There is no shame in asking for support. I can help with creating a parenting plan, I can help with co-parenting after divorce, and I can help parents who care for their own aging relatives. We truly live in the "sandwich generation" where family can grow far.

I practice EFFT - Emotionally Focused Family Therapy whose goal is to help families in their relationships to become stronger and safer. We all have conflict from time to time with those we love. What matters most is to be able to have healthy repair with each other to heal and forgive and move forward in healthy, loving, lasting relationships with those who mean the most.