Family Counselling Services in Campbell River, BC.

Family therapy is a bringing together all the emotions, needs, disappointments, hurts of the family members, in order to discover new ways of interacting that are respectful, mutually beneficial and above all else, more loving and nurturing. If we look at Family Systems we see that all contribute to how the family "drama" gets played out; In order to change the unhealthy patterns, we must see and understand from an individual perspective, one's own role in order to effect change and new and healthy behaviours.

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.

Families can be complicated, and being able to speak about issues in a safe environment is an excellent way to work towards more respectful and supportive relationships. It is important to hear the voice and story of each family member in order to understand the full picture of the problem. I believe a successful home life depends on the quality of the relationships and sometimes communication can get in the way of that. Using a Systemic Family Therapy model the goal is to understand unhelpful patterns and support families in breaking them.

Families who are finding it difficult to communicate in a respectful and healthy way benefit from cognitive behavioural programs. Parents and their children learn how to be flexible in their thinking, manage their emotions and moderate their behaviour. Children learn their role in the family, how to stay out of the middle and how to cope with family stress.

Today family can mean different things to different people. Each family structure is challenged with their own set of difficulties and problems. Whether you are a blended family, single parent family due to divorce or loss, adoptive family, same sex parents, or traditional, we recognize family dynamics can be complicated. Together we will work to develop strong communication skills between each family member, while nurturing and solidifying the family unit. We will work to overcome conflict, heal the wounds of the past, build parenting skills and create a safe environment where all family members can be heard.

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.