Family Counselling Services in Bowen Island, BC.

Family counselling involves creating a safe environment where each family member is given opportunities to share their thoughts, feelings and beliefs. Once each member is heard, issues are addressed, processed and examined. Barriers and pitfalls such as communication are explored together. Along with the guidance, support and empathy of the Counsellor, family members work on creating solutions to problems. I have over twenty years of experience with working with children and families, I look forward to using my "client-centered" approach to help families move toward increasing their communication skills, valuing the input of each other and living happier and healthier lives.

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.

Family therapy can be very powerful because it is typical that a family can live together and yet not really communicate openly about issues that are affecting everyone. This lack of communication is usually because of fear of upsetting one of the family members or there may be some topics which have become "taboo" and everyone knows this. At this point we are dealing with the proverbial pink elephant in the room. Family therapy helps to open up communication in a safe and loving manner. It can help everyone get clarity about the next step in a separation or divorce scenario and can help people express their feelings in a compassionate and accepting environment.

Family therapy provides the opportunity to explore how unfinished business or unhealed loss in your family of origin affects how you cope with life challenges in the present. We will explore family history and major events in your family, sometimes going back generations, to find out how family members were affected by those events, and how you may be affected by them in your life now. We also have the opportunity to find the health, strength and wisdom in the family through the generations.

At Wellness Centered Counselling our goal is to help you create a more loving, functional and connected that family so that you are able to rejuvenate and appreciate your relationships. It is our belief that family members often find it useful to learn new ways to express their feelings and needs and that participation of the entire family, whenever possible, is advantageous. We are here to help support you as you discover the unique challenges and strengths in your family, reinforce your connections, improve communication and increase harmony and balance in your home.

Let’s be real: parenting is hard. But acknowledging the challenges of the realities of parenting can feel like you are complaining about your much-loved children! There are not many places where you can safely, freely discuss your your mixed feelings, challenges, or the contradictions between your deep love for your children and your sometimes strong desire to get far away from them. You can feel better and more empowered in the ways you parent your kids. Read about some of the typical struggles parents grapple with and signs that you may benefit from reaching out for help under "Parent Support" on my website. Queer parents especially encouraged to reach out!

Families are complicated. As a mother and step parent of three, I have a personal understanding of the complexities of family dynamics. Therapeutically, every member of the family is treated with respect and has a voice. Individually, clients will discover the impacts of their coping stances within their family unit. When engaging in group family therapy, family members will have a safe, contained space to express themselves. Role-playing and hands-on movement will be offered but not required. You will benefit by changing your perspective of the position you hold in your family which will consequently shift relationships with your family.

Trained in Family Therapy, Fay enjoys helping adult members of families have better relationships or work through critical incidents or difficult issues. She is also happy to help families with teenagers support the development of better relationships and more responsible behaviour. Fay uses a variety of positive approaches that will help families adjust and feel closer, more understood, and more supported during difficult times such as medical diagnosis, deaths, arrests, addiction issues, or money issues. Adult siblings often have conflict which results in a falling off. Fay can help facilitate healing conversations as family members work through the issues to a resolution for all.

Family therapy is important for those that are having a hard time connecting with someone in your family(partner, sibling, parent, child) and it can be quiet distressful. It also is important that if you are alone working yourself and others family members have similar therapeutic goals. My treatment plans involves understanding the belief system of the unity, and how people within that system communicate and relate to one another. We peel the onions together, and bring on healing to create unity and uniformity within the family system.

Often, teens and parents want the same thing as each other: mutual respect, and for the teen to end up being a healthy happy adult eventually. I offer a very structured and solution focused approach to parent-teen conflict; inspired by mediation and solution focused therapy. Please feel free to get in touch and learn more. http://presentmomentum.ca/contact/

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.

As a Marriage and Family Therapist I work with families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture change and development. Family therapy has evolved from its early definition of the family in traditional terms. Today we have many kinds of “non-traditional families” comprised of people who may or may not be related by blood or marriage. My concept of the family is defined in terms of people that are involved in committed, long-term relationships and roles that are organized in a way that is strongly supportive of each other and aimed at promoting growth and well-being. I view the family as a relational system and family relationships as an important factor in psychological health.

The family is a very powerful system. We all learn so much from our family of origin, and we take it with us for the rest of our lives. Many clients come to counselling because there has been some kind of break down in family relationships and communication. Through the process of counselling we work together to increase understanding discover forgiveness and move toward more fulfilling relationships with all.

Trouble does not occur in a vacuum. It is common for families to have a scapegoat on whom the disharmony in the home can be blamed but in reality, there are many other roles being played by family members, creating a dysfunctional balance. If we align one tire but leave the rest to wobble, it is only a matter of time before our repairs have amounted to nothing. The more involved a family is in the process, the better the chances for real change to occur.

The goal of the therapy is to help family members identify how specific behaviors affect others, learn new ways of relating to each other, resolve conflicts, and open lines of communication between all family members. I assist families to improving the communication, solving family problems, understanding and handling special family situations, and creating a better functioning home environment.

How much does your family mean to you? Obviously a lot or you wouldn't be reading this right now. Does your family make you feel like you have to be perfect? Are sick to death of not being able to be you. Or were you raised by an extremely dysfunctional family and are having troubles not knowing what it looks like not to over compensate for your past. Did you grow up with parents where anything less than an "A" you were shunned and never have a spare minute to yourself or something was wrong with you. Possibly you grew up with three parents two moms and a dad, maybe just a mom or a dad who had no idea what it was like to be a parent. Break those cycles. Take a new approach Healthy lifestyle

Family counselling takes on many forms. The goal is to bring together the family to create understanding and harmony. Each family member is unique with their own values and perspectives. Family counselling gives each member the opportunity to understand their perspective and their role within the family and then the perspective and roles of the other members.

When a family member is struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, the entire family is affected negatively. Communication barriers within families of addicts may cause the addict to withdraw into isolation, leaving their family members feeling frustrated, ashamed, lonely, fearful, depressed, hopeless and angry. The sources of addiction are mental, emotional and psychological in nature, and the addict, as well as their family, need to heal under the care of professionals. At Valiant Recovery, we offer counseling to the families of addicts to help them process the difficult emotions they have confronted, and to create a healthy, supportive environment for the addict to return home to.

If family causes you upset, going for therapy is ideal. Sometimes, however, family therapy isn’t an option or doesn’t allow enough time for you to process your thoughts and feelings. At times like these, seeing an individual therapist can be invaluable. Vancouver Psychotherapist Joseph Eliezer will help you feel heard, understood and supported. Together with Joseph, you will learn to think differently about the hurt, confusion and devastation that occurred within your family. Thinking differently can help you feel calmer, be clearer, and gain strength to find your unique way forward. Call today for your fee no obligation phone consultation.

There are so many different types of dynamics and struggles that all kinds of families can experience. How I work with families is by assessing how each member of the family is being affected and help them to see and understand their perspective and then unite all the members to have a deeper and more connected understanding of what is happening in the family and understanding how they all have come to this point. Then we work to implement strategies that work for everyone so that individually each member feels heard and more understood, which equals more safety and a sense of togetherness and unity.

Family therapy is the cornerstone to how we cope with relationships in our lives. This process focuses on relationships within the family unit. It looks at how the family has helped to form communication styles, relationships and conflict. As a therapist, I help people find connections between their present relationships and the ones within their family of origin. I work with the whole family system to help mediate concerns, and create more peaceful relationships.

Troubled relationships with family members can be a source of immense stress. You may be struggling with parenting concerns such as adjusting to the arrival of a baby, coping with the needs of young children, dealing with a rebellious teenager, or launching a young adult. Perhaps you are feeling exhausted from caregiver stress as you look after aging parents. You might be confused and hurt by strained relationships with extended family, including in-laws and adult children. Family counselling can help you gain confidence as a parent as you learn to deal effectively with children, teens, and young adults. I can help you gain insight and learn strategies to enable you to attain mutually satisf....

Do you deeply love the people you live with, but secretly do not like them very much? Do you find yourself wondering why domestic life has become so hard? Do you fear you are losing the closeness with your family members that you once enjoyed? If so - there IS help available. We will work together to identify areas of struggle, come up goals for therapy, and learn to implement new strategies for working through trouble spots in your family relationships. This will help you to have more peace in your home so you can truly enjoy the people you love again.

The effect of discord within the family may impact other areas of your life. Often times children need to feel that they have a specific place in the family in order to move through life positively. When this is not the case it may be expressed through unwanted behaviours. Parents may also be struggling to find respectful and responsible parenting techniques that will allow them to obtain the desired behaviours they expect from their children. Together we will find ways to understand each member’s perspective, establish core beliefs and negotiate acceptable compromises in order to restore harmony in your family.

Family struggle can feel especially hard when you're transitioning or planning to come out to your partner, your parents, or your kids. I provide understanding and encouragement to help partners, parents, and teens, and other relationships better understand each other through bonding discussions, creative activities, and mindfulness.