Family Counseling Services in Fairview, CA.

I provide family therapy for a variety of families including those with young children, teens and young adults. I help by having everyone present in the session to hear each other and to support each family member in being heard and understood. I help each person understand the underlying feelings that are often not seen, but have an impact when they are expressed as frustration or anger. Understanding each other to improve the closeness between family members can help resolve conflicts and provide a sense of safety and security.

Family therapy is a process that targets relationships between and among members of an immediate or extended family. I recommend that families pursue therapy when a family member experiences problems which upsets family dynamics. This includes, but is not limited to, illness of a family member, a separation or divorce, a child experiencing problems that impact the family and the challenges inherent in blending families. My purpose is to help each family member learn to interact more effectively and handle conflicts within the family both positively and constructively. I work with both the adults and children in the family as they work together to function successfully as a family unit.

Family therapy is usually called for when families are in transition such as the addition of new family member, launching of a child, or when there is grief & loss or crisis. It is during this times when the family needs to be adaptable, but problems arise when the family fails to adapt to the changes. I will assess the family relational dynamics, challenge them to learn new ways of relating to each other and adapt to the changes. I give each member in therapy a voice to speak and share their needs, wants, and desires. They learn how to communicate and problem solve effectively. I do provide a free consultation, if clients ask me.

Dysfunctional family interactions can sapped the life energy out of every family member. While all relationships have conflicts from time to time, sometimes relationships can get stuck in repetitive patterns of arguments and disagreements that result in partners or family members feel unheard, dismissed, unappreciated, or worse. These negative patterns can lead to intense negative emotional reactions and dissatisfaction within the couple or family, that challenge the core of the relationship, cause personal internal turmoil, and can derail other important aspects of our lives. Family therapy can help in first recognizing and then changing those negative dysfunctional patterns.

I found that the skills that my Couples learn from me: how to speak and listen in a way that allows real intimacy to digest on the gut level is extremely useful in working with families. Many times family members love each other but that love does not digest. Often there is a child or teenager that is acting out and when the parents learn how to connect with their child on a deeper level, the need for the acting out behaviors goes away. Parents sometimes need help being on the same team to BOTH provide the necessary structure (rules) AND do it in a way so the child (or teen) digests the love. Your children appreciate the rules from a loving team (even if they pretend they hate them)!

Families come to therapy feeling stuck in repetitive patterns of negative interaction. Oftentimes one or more families members feel like they have become the "scapegoat" for the family's problems and are fearful of entering therapy, concerned that doing so will only further cement that role for them. My approach to family therapy helps avoid that dynamic by not taking sides, but rather giving all members an equal voice, and helping each person feel respected and heard. At the same time, I understand that a parent's role is different than a child's, and I work to empower parents to have more "healthy authority" with their children. I am trained in Multi-dimensional Family Therapy (MDFT).

Conflicts in a family can become so routine that it may be difficult for you to determine which issues are important and which have become automatic battles. I can provide your family a safe place to work through this with an objective and neutral perspective that allows everyone to hear and everyone to be heard. Frequent arguing, nagging, complaining - all intensify the stress of daily life. Your family can learn to live harmoniously - not perfectly without ever having conflict - but without the need for "winners" and "losers" in constant tug of wars. It is exhausting and unhealthy to live with tension in your home. Call me today and let's begin easing that tension and regaining calm.

Family counseling is often a great way to help support family members working through a wide range of difficulties. Each member of a family is growing and developing at their own pace and in their own way. Often times conflict will arise between members due to insufficient understanding and a lack of proper communication. Family therapy can help clearly identify the conflict and how it is affecting ALL members of the family. It puts the power and responsibility for change on each member. Family therapy provides a compassionate, supportive place for members to hear, feel heard and build stronger, healthier connections.

Our family can be one of our greatest resource. Yet when things go badly, it can stress us terrible. Divorce can be especially difficult for families. Children may be acting out with cutting their arms or legs. Teens may be missing school without permission. Dad may drink too much. Choosing a family therapist can be difficult. You probably want someone you can trust to help you and also support you. Also, it is important to find someone who all the family members feel is fair and caring. This can be a difficult balance to strike for a therapist. Selecting a family therapist that works well with your family can make a big difference. Often, we go to a therapist during transitions like loss, moving, a child starting school, or a new step...(view profile to read more)

I help families work through their struggles, differences, and patterns by getting each member to focus on how the struggles, fights, and cycles happen. I help families tune into their patterns while exploring the collective and individual meaning behind those patterns. I start by getting a general feel for the dynamic by observing how you function. Then I try to guide discussion in very simple and concrete ways so that each member can see how they are interacting with the larger dynamic. This allows opportunity for a new perspective while creating the space for change and growth. I will work with you in discovering how you and your family affect each other so that you can grow together.

Family is the most important thing. However, sometimes stress and life transitions cause conflict and distress. Family members sometimes lose connection with each other. Our approach to resolving conflict and disconnection is heart-felt and based upon the idea that we all need to be connected to out loved ones. We believe all behavior makes sense and that if you get at the underlying needs and feelings propelling a behavior, you can resolve the issue. We help families repair ruptures by using empathic client centered interventions, which open up communication so that it is much fuller and deeper opening up a new dimension for the family. The benefit is a happy and cohesive family unit.

Family life if complicated. Not only do we bring our own baggage to the relationship but all of the other family members bring theirs too. Many of the issues that come up are communications issues and many are due to our nervous systems being either on hyper alert or shut down from past traumas and an overaccumulation of daily strresses. Working as a team we build on the strengths of the couple/family and we also tease apart the less functional areas to understand them more fully. Then we devise a plan for working with the issues. That might involve working as a couple/family or it might involve individual session to resolve whatever issues we each bring into our relationships.

The most successful approach in the world today to creating loving and close families, endorsed by the American Psychological Association for couples, is Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT), and I am here to offer my services as an Emotionally Focused Therapist. With an astounding success rate, EFFT can enrich, stabilize, connect, and support families as they move from disconnect to healthy loving connections. Forget about learning to argue better, blaming, or analyzing your early childhood and instead, get to the core of your needs to feel emotionally connected to those you love by learning how to create a secure and lasting family bond. EFFT works and you deserve to learn more!