Family Counselling Services in King City, ON.

In order to gain a better understanding of a person's situation, their behaviour is explored in the context of Family Systems Therapy (FST). FST looks at the family as an emotional unit and identifies the patterns of interactions that are maintaining the challenges, including the patterns of communication & language used to discuss the challenges. This helps to better understand the impact of family dynamics, family values, beliefs about gender roles, status or power of family members, and cultural & ethnicity on a person's self-perception. I also use strengths-based practices with families in order to transfer strengths of individuals & family systems into therapeutic awareness.

Families go through a lot together. Managing changes and transitions, experiencing illnesses and loss, as well as employment or school issues, divorce or trauma can be challenging to navigate and can lead to disagreements or differences within a family. As a family therapist working with your family, I will support you all in being able to share your experiences as a member of the family, better understand each other’s perspectives and work through difficult feelings in a safe, non-judgmental space to help you meet your goals. Book a free consultation to explore if we are a good fit.

'Family' is supposed to be a safe haven, a place that always feels like home. But when there is unresolved conflict and unsatisfying relationships 'family' can feel like anything but! I love to help families (including multi-generational families) be able to communicate and function in healthier ways so that the hurt can stop and love and understanding can be expressed and felt. If you've been thinking about family counselling for a while, don't wait any longer. You'd be surprised at the difference that can be made in a relatively short period of time and how family relationships can heal and grow into safer, more loving places to call 'home'!

Familial units can oftentimes become caught in cycles of miscommunication and misinterpretation that builds up and solidifies through the years. My approach to working with families is identifying such cycles and unearthing and understanding each member’s intentions. I believe that more often than not, family members have good intentions, and when this is brought to light, defenses can soften, and the healing process can ensue. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure we are a good fit.

I often find that dealing with mental health and addiction issues is not possible unless we deal with the structural issues of the family. I use a family systems approach where relationships are seen as two-way and reciprocal. It's not about who did what, it's about our relationship skills and ability to manage having a family. It's about being healthy rather than being right. Sometimes you need to make a strong move in order to get the whole family system to shift. Let's figure what to do together as it is often too difficult to handle alone.

In the area of family matters, I provide mediation services. Family Mediation process is focused on resolution of concerns and issues that arise in families. In the mediation process, as a neutral party, I assists the disputing parties resolve their disagreement by facilitating their discussions and guiding them to appropriate resources and possible solutions until they reach desired outcomes. *Family mediation is not psychotherapy, marital counseling, or legal representation.

Our families and those around us shape who we will become and our thought patterns. We learn our language, habits and how to view the world through the influence of our families. When we have healthy family relationships it is easier to maintain healthy relationships within and outside of our family. Family therapy helps families develop and maintain healthy and functional units. I employ aspects of Bowenian and Structural therapy to work with families to help deal with domestic violence, depression, anxiety, grief, child/adolescent behavioral issues to name a few.

The cliché goes “we don’t choose family, they are chosen for us”. All families experience difficulties in their relationships with each other. This is normal as multiple personalities are at play. Family counselling incorporates the use of different theories with the task being to define the problem from individual’s perspectives. Ultimately the goal of attaining cohesiveness within the family is reached by every member acknowledging and understanding each other’s feelings and perspectives about unresolved issues.

Clients come to see me in my practice in downtown Toronto in order to help them focus on problems and conflicts between family members. In some cases, this includes parent-child conflicts. And in others, this may include conflicts between the adults in home, who may have differing approaches to parenting. Finally, excessive conflicts between siblings may also be a reason for family therapy.

Our families can benefit from family therapy when they experience any stressful event that puts pressure on family relationships, such as financial hardship, family fractures or break ups, or the death of a loved one. Some issues we would focus on in family sessions are improving communication and solving conflicts, exploring ways we can support a family member who is experiencing difficulties, and how to grow stronger moving forward. It can seem like a monumental task. However with hope, optimism and commitment families can get better.

Family counseling is a unique form of counseling that focuses on improving the relationships and communication within a family unit. I believe that this approach can be particularly effective in helping clients to resolve conflicts, build stronger relationships, and develop more effective coping mechanisms. One of the key benefits of family counseling is that it can provide clients with a safe and supportive environment to communicate and address their concerns. Family members can learn to express themselves more effectively, listen to one another with empathy, and work collaboratively towards a common goal.

Communication.empathy and forgiveness work are a primary focus in family therapy with me. We work with many modalities including Traditional talk therapy: Giving space for the family to explore and express feelings, own awareness’s, transform thoughts, grieve, vent, and neutralize guilt, anger and fear. New understandings and thus new neural pathways and patterns begin to form. This is a profoundly transformational set of tools that can bring families to stronger places of connection and union.

Family counselling with us uses a Family Systems and circle approach. This means we will discuss family dynamics and each family member’s role in it, what need this meets and how to relate in a healthier way. We use a circle approach to ensure all family members have a voice and can share in a safe, caring space that we will create together.

Do you have trouble communicating with your kids, spouse, siblings, in-laws, or parents? If you are like most of us, you probably do! Families adopt certain rules for how people are to behave within the family, and more often than not, these rules contribute to unhealthy relationships and communication patterns. It is my job to help families understand and identify their dynamics, and work towards effective and healthy communication patters.

Dr. Van Blyderveen, Dr. Saliba, and Dr. Brunet each offer family therapy at New Leaf Psychology Centre. Through family therapy, you and your family will learn to communicate more effectively with one another, better understand each other, and experience more frequent moments of closeness. Attention will be given to balancing the relationship quality with the different roles of parents and children. Dr. Saliba has a special interest in working with blended families, and Dr. Brunet has a special interest in facilitating attachment between young children (ages 0 through 6) and their parents.

When working with families I aim to focus on common ground and shared hopes and goals. This sets the stage for collaboratively working through conflicts so that common goals can be achieved. Focusing on positive family experiences and strengths of the family are also helpful in reconnecting family members. Understanding relationship patterns and encouraging new ways of communicating and interacting often allows families to practice different ways of being with and understanding one another and can often alleviate tension for more pleasurable family experiences.

Sometimes family life becomes stressful when every individual is bringing their own challenges into the dynamics. Having family structure and goals can promote effective functioning within the family as a whole through working through relational or outside side issues that are bring brought into the home.

I look at family therapy as a pattern from the family of origin, if growing up was dysfunctional; faced issues such as abuse, substance abuse, poor health, or poverty, did not adequately demonstrate love, that person may experience difficulties in these areas later in life and show up in their family. They might also, have developed coping strategies or related strengths in the face of a difficult upbringing. Without an awareness of how these issues affected them, it is likely that the negative pattern may be repeated over time. A child who witnesses parents make certain choices or engage in certain behaviors may develop a tendency to behave in a similar manner.

My family therapy provides coaching, support, guidance and empowerment to all members. I coach parents to become better "parenting coaches", and children to become better "game of life" payers. I help each member tap into his/her "life tools" and empower personal abilities, flexibility, and self-control. It is not "power over" another person, but "power shared." It is about becoming the right person. When you focus on your own behaviors and the way you treat the person you love, it will not be long before things begin to change. we can make ourselves do what we need to do in order to become the kind of person who is worthy of being in a healthy family relationship.

With the fast pace and challenges of life, you do not have to face them alone. Sometimes you need a helping hand and a friendly ear to talk to. It's my passion to help people. I offer counselling and psychotherapy for individuals, couples and families. I work with clients to improve their resiliency, and uncover their strengths using a client centered approach and different modalities to meet needs .

Therapy can provide a safe environment for families that seek to repair their relationships. The problems generally stem from a much earlier time, when it was hard for family members to understand the nature of their conflict. Each person often has felt hurt and misunderstood, and these feelings have perpetuated over time. My approach is to encourage dialogue between them to help them understand the dynamics that have prevented a fulfilling relationship. I also try to establish the positive intentions of the work they are about to do. Therapy is intended to give them insight into what went wrong and how to repair the relationship while working through the difficult feelings and mistrust.

Family consists with different shapes and sizes, and different histories. I support you to negative the conflicts in your family and enhance the communications to express feelings, concerns, worries, but also love and care. I will support you to address and heal the fractions in the past and find the acceptance to be make chances that would facilitate a healthier interactions.

Working on the parent-child relationship and/or sibling relationship can set the foundation for a happier and healthier family. Our therapists have extensive experience in supporting children, youth, adults and their caregivers to learn skills and process emotions that are necessary to feel more connected as a family unit using a variety of different tools and techniques.

Families come in all shapes and sizes and it is not uncommon for families to go through times of turmoil, uncertainty, or disconnection, as family relationships can be complex. In my practice I work in the following areas to help families:the analytical tools to trace the roots of your anxieties, and the confidence to take decisive action to overcome them. -Parent-child/teen relationships -Co-parenting after separation -couples therapy -Parent coaching -Divorce counselling -communication with children after divorce/separation

Most family therapists inadvertently create more chaos through their well-intentioned efforts to assist a family move through a change process. Why? Brains are inherently deregulated (all of us, may I add) and most talking and dialoguing misses brain-centric problems that need more intensive help. Many times the emotional trauma created by years of solving problems ineffectively can wreak havoc on the brain's parasympathetic nervous system, not ever giving the family a break from flight or fight thinking. Contact us for an innovative neuroscience solution to family dysfunction. Kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.