Family Counselling Services in Shawnigan Lake, BC.

Family counselling can assist you to better understand your personal challenges, enhance your self awareness and these lead to improved relationships. Laurie believes that how you make sense of your childhood experiences has a profound effect on how you parent your own children. Therefore, having a deeper understanding of yourself can help you to create more effective and pleasurable relationships with your children, partner and with yourself.

My approach is centered on fostering open communication, understanding, and cohesion among family members. Recognizing the unique dynamics within familial relationships, I tailor interventions to address the complexities of diverse family structures. By emphasizing effective communication strategies, conflict resolution, and the cultivation of a supportive family environment, my goal is to strengthen the bonds that connect each family member. Through a collaborative process, clients benefit from developing practical tools to navigate challenges, build resilience, and foster a harmonious family life.

The problems that originate and find expression in one person is usually an expression of the entire family system. In this approach I explore what each person does and how they act in the family system, then we wok to untangle the web so each person assumes responsibility for their part in conflicts or misunderstandings. In this way everyone benefits from the process.

As children or adults it can be really challenging to just plain get along with brothers, sisters, children and parents! Who else knows how to push our buttons better? Conflict in families is to some extent normal and necessary. Find out how to have healthy conflict management skills to be able to elicit the love and care you need from your family to offer it in return. Families of all types of configurations will learn about being an ally for each other as we work towards respect, love, collaborative problem solving and mutual understanding.

Do you feel like your young adult children are pushing you away? Are you in an amazing relationship but living as a blended family is the ultimate test of your love? Are your children acting needy, demanding, or struggling to sleep at night? Are you finding that one, or both, of you are getting short with the children? I use Emotionally Focused Family Therapy to help families experience new ways of being together. The idea is that children become calmer, more independent, and less demanding as the security in your relationship increases. Parent’s also report increased confidence in the way they parent individually, and as a couple. Contact today to schedule a free 15 minute consultation.

Dr Sloat’s counselling approach re: Family Therapy includes emphases on identifying individual needs both within and outside of family relationships, and on learning how we can best negotiate and reconcile these needs with the needs of others. Included will be skills and strategies that will help you to better communicate, set boundaries, resolve conflicts, and understand relationship dynamics.

The troubles of individuals and couples can affect whole families. Though I do not invite families in as a group I often work one-on-one with the children, parents and siblings of clients. Also, I might meet with combinations such as a mother and daughter or maybe brothers and sisters. Parenting and blending families are big challenges for many. Some people are upset by financial or trust issues or want to improve communication skills. Counseling helps you gain insight and understanding into how families function. You will learn new skills and increase in self esteem and confidence. You can achieve the goal of making the changes you need to make your family life more satisfying.

Families face many challenges together that can include grief and loss, addictions, separation and divorce, life transitions and communication. Each member and your family as a whole, already has strength and insight into these challenges. Each member also has hopes and ideas for creating more connection to one another. It is important to begin the therapy process by understanding these unique strengths, insights and needs, in order to develop the direction forward. As we work together, we may meet individually, in pairs and/or as a group throughout the process. My extensive experience working with children and youth in the school system, creates inclusivity with younger family members.