Family Counseling Services in Martinez, CA.

Often in families there are concerns or issues that seem hard to talk about. Family therapy provides a safe space for your family to begin speaking, in an honest way, about whats upsetting or causing pain in the entire system. Just speaking to the pain is often a relief by itself for many families! Together, we will work towards creating optimal communication, care and health in your family as we discuss the more painful and challenging experiences in your family.

I spent two years running the adolescent unit of a psychiatric hospital, where I had to do a great many family therapy sessions, which has made me very experienced in family dynamics. I am a big believer in the family systems approach, where the family is seen as a relational unit and focus is put on how the energetics are playing out in the family dynamic.

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 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 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.

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.

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.

Our family lives can be tremendously gratifying and enriching and a source of invaluable support and belonging. They can also become tense and chaotic at times, especially when under the influences of acute or chronic stress. Such responses are understandable, but you may need the support and guidance of a skilled therapist from time to time, especially if you are experiencing persistent conflicts that you cannot resolve or mediate on your own. Psychotherapy can help you relate to your family with more ease or resolve even long-standing problems. If you wish to explore how I could help with your particular situation, please call me at 415-533-9724. I would be happy to talk with you.

Having your family all in one room talking openly about personal issues with a therapist may sound like the worst possible way to spend an hour. Families are complicated and sometimes communication can almost completely break down. I can help each member of your family to feel heard and understood. By listening deeply to your past and present personal family history we can collaborate to make meaningful links and identify where communication might be breaking down. By creating effective communication we can generate movement around family issues and dynamics that may have felt stuck or impossible to understand. My style is warm, nonjudgmental, and active.

If your family is facing a significant issue or major transition like separation or divorce, family counseling can help you to ensure that no one is overlooked. Every member of the family will be given a voice and I will work with your family in a professional, balanced and non-judgemental way. I will also help you to communicate more effectively with one another.

Family therapy looks at the entire family system—parents, children, extended family members—to identify strengths and problematic behaviours. I collaborate with families on strategies for utilizing their own capabilities for resolving problems, and on developing effective communication and problem-solving skills for preventing conflicts. I specialize in working with families of teenagers, which is an age that can be challenging for both the teenagers and their parents.

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).

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.