Family Counselling Services in Thorsby, AB.

After going through a Divorce our therapists can help you to • Learn how to co-parent successfully • Understand the roles of a parent and step parent and learn the basic rules of parenting • Find and understand the emotional needs of every member in the family • Help kids cope with the transition successfully • Reduce the impact of your grief and trauma

Healthy communication and regulation skills foster positive and healthy family relationships. In session, we can explore and build on a family's communication skills, ability to navigate conflict or family crisis, and improve family coping styles. Together, we can build positive practices to provide a safe and supportive environment for you and your family.

Despite the best intentions of ourselves and our family members, we are often tangled in patterns of invalidation, rejection, frustration and blame. It can feel so messy that we operate in a constant state of fear and a crippling sense of unworthiness. In 2008 I started my counselling career as a family therapist. A combination of individual and joint sessions will take place to allow the space for all voices to be respectfully heard, while helping to identify bigger ‘systems’ patterns that keep you stuck in pain and finger-pointing. I will help to smooth out communication, make room for wants and needs and to heal the old wounds holding you back from having a healthier relationship.

Treatable conditions appear in the most traditional of families. In addition, the number of non-traditional families (blended, adopted, foster, alternative lifestyle) is increasing; and treatable conditions arise in these families, too. When unhealthy and/or unfulfilling patterns affect whole families, it can be useful to involve the entire family in the healing process. At Sussman Psychological, family members interact on a level playing field where everyone has a chance to be heard, and an obligation to listen well and to hear others. The usual power structure is temporarily put aside in favor of optimizing effective communication processes at the level of the emotions.

Your family is one of the most important aspects of your life. Therefore, it is extremely important to find a caring professional, who will help your family as a whole to recover and heal. I want to work together with you to achieve reconciliation, forgiveness, strength, understanding, hope, support, peace, agreement, and resolution in your family.

At our clinic, we recognize that everyone's "nest" can differ. Whether you are co-parenting, married, heterosexual, LGBTQ+ identifying, separated, divorced, or blended - we provide a safe space for families of all shapes and sizes to get the care and support they need. We provide a non-judgemental space for families to explore their concerns and grow together.

When one member of a family is struggling, the rest are often struggling as well. In my work with families, it is imperative to foster positive communication and to validate the concerns and individual as well as collective experiences of family members. Psychoeducation, parenting strategies, conflict resolution, and understanding the origins of family difficulties are common themes in family therapy sessions. I often use creative means to help explore negative patterns and role playing to develop a deeper understanding of problematic interactions. My overarching goal is to help families restore damaged relationships and begin working together towards a positive shared experience.

Families create complex dynamics, particularly in today’s times – what with blended families, separated couples sharing child custody, and so on. Do you find yourself and your family members struggling within such circumstances? I am passionate about working with you to increase effective communication and develop healthy relational patterns. Together, we will work within a safe, non-judgemental, respectful and compassionate environment. Healthy family relationships are essential to basic safety, stability and consistency in yours and your children’s lives. This becomes the foundation for your children’s growth and adaptation to life’s challenges.

Shift family therapy or family counseling is designed to address specific trauma or issues affecting the health and functioning of a family and individuals within it. It can be used to help the family through a difficult period of time, a major transition, or mental or behavioral health problems in family members. We often break family members up into individual sessions to target are beliefs that we hold about ourselves and the world that become part of our identity.

Family dynamics can be a complicated and sensitive balance within a home. This can be made increasingly complicated by divorce, blended families, individual parenting, spiritual values, health issues and much more. Counseling can provide family members a neutral voice and a place to be heard when fighting and arguing is impacting daily functioning and happiness, of one or more family members. We also help develop necessary tools to resolve conflict in a healthy way, bringing peace and harmony back to everyday lives.

Families are complicated and exist in many different forms; nuclear families, multi-family units, blended families, adopted families, foster families, siblings, parent/child, etc.. In all these settings communication breakdown and conflicts can arise. With many differing views and perspectives, navigating and finding solutions to conflict can sometimes seem impossible. Some areas of focus in family therapy: Conflict between family members Blended families Divorce/Separation Grief and loss Navigating co-parenting relationships Behavioural concerns with family members Mental health concerns with family memebers Physical or mental conditions adding stress to the family unit

I see families with young children, teens and adult children. Sometimes I see siblings trying to sort out old family history. I help you discern how to set appropriate boundaries that take into account issues of safety and responsibility as well as the age appropriate needs of the children. Within the family counselling, issues between the parents may need to be addressed separately as they can interfere and sometimes inadvertently sabotage parenting roles. Children can be quick to take advantage of these issues. I believe in the value of families and work to strengthen family ties.

None of us were handed a degree in how to be great parents, and even with our best efforts, family life can go sideways fast. I have a son and a daughter of my own, so I know how challenging raising children and holding a family together can be. Rather than spending weeks circling the problem, I like to get to the issues that are affecting your family right now. I have been a psychologist since 1986. I am based in Calgary and see clients across Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick by secure video. Book a session now: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

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.

Regardless of the dynamics of your relationship—be it with family, as a couple, within a throuple, or as part of a close-knit pod—relationship therapy can be a deeply supportive and enriching resource. My primary therapeutic approach is centred on several cognitive therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT), and Narrative Therapy. Together, we will work to understand the challenges you encounter and collaborate on ways to address these situations in more effective and helpful ways.

Our families can be our greatest source of support or cause for our most intense pain. Learning to talk and listen with respect is a key to healing. When there is a willingness for openness and acceptance of each other bridges can be mended. It is often easier to do this in a safe place with an objective person. Individual sessions are usually recommended before bringing the family together.