Family Counseling Services in Norwalk, CA.

I specialize in supporting the healthy growth and development of family relationships. Family therapy provides a secure and nurturing environment for these relationships to blossom. The bond between parent and child is of crucial importance for the secure development of children and their future relationships. The ultimate goal is to help families to create healthy bonds that bring joy to their life and relationships. I have experience working with families with children of all ages from infancy to young adulthood.

Families are complex and dynamic entities. Often, different family members get pigeonholed into one specific identity which is pathologizing & limiting, and does not serve them. Family systems teach us how to behave in the world. Dysfunction in families can be very harmful and can set people up to feel doomed. Luckily, there is help. In family therapy sessions we will create an atmosphere of openness and non judgment. Through identifying, and actively working through issues, balance and harmony can emerge.

All of our counselors practice Family Psychology. We understand and treat symptoms from a systems perspective. This means that many factors contribute to an problem behavior. Symptoms don't happen in a vacuum. Frequently, we invite the spouse or family members to participate in sessions. Using therapy as a safe place, we work collaboratively together to create effective solutions. Using proven methods such as behavioral contracting and family experiments, family members learn to communicate and offer mutual support through experiences. Many families are toxic. We can help you to establish strong boundaries and new behaviors that will disrupt the dominant patterns of conflict and reactions.

I take a "systems" approach to Family Therapy, which means that each member of the family contributes to the overall dynamics and issues within the family. As a graduate school Professor for over ten years, I have taught the theories of marriage and family therapy for over ten years and facilitated the couples training program at a Community Mental Health Center as well. Often, Family Therapy will turn into Couples Therapy in my experience, which comprises about half of my counseling practice in Los Angeles.

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 are the fundamental unit of our society. Healthy families make our world better. I try to balance the needs of the individual with the need for a stable and happy family. It is critical that all voices be heard, including children who do not have the authority of a parent, but whose voice, feelings and behaviors are always some kind of barometer about what is going on in the family. Finding ways to support multiple needs while preserving the family's stability is what I specialize in. While compromise can be important, I feel it is important to help families find ways where all basic needs can be met. You will learn to be open and communicate more in your family work with me.

All family systems have rules and unspoken rules that help regulate and assist families to cope with stress. I like to teach clients the failure of a family or parent and then challenge them to let go of these family rules and to find new rules and boundaries to help them now live. As a result, family therapy is used to help reduce stress and increase acceptace and support.

I use a family systems approach when working with families. I work with families in intimate relationships to nurture change and development. It is suggested that individuals cannot be understood in isolation from one another, but rather as a part of their family, as the family is an emotional unit. By working with families we can see patterns that are sometimes dysfunctional. Families who are able to see their dysfunction are able to make the changes that bring about healthy relationships within their unit.

Families are the places where we should find the love and support to face the world and all its challenges. However, sometimes families loose their way due to poor communication and misunderstandings , anger, acting out behaviors, hurt feelings and lack of knowledge. Maya Angelou has said: "People do what they know; when they know better, they do better." My plan for families is to help them know better so they can do better. Where there is loving-kindness and a will to make change the future seems brighter.

I approach family therapy from a perspective that the family is one organic system--each member plays a part in the system. Roles are are defined and reinforced. Every family has an equilibrium. When change happens quickly, the family system gets dysregulated. Seeing interactional patterns and making subtle shifts in ways of relating can make dramatic changes. My role is to help make those shifts slowly and in ways that feel the least disruptive.

Many of our struggles are not just individually focused; they are shaped by and affect the family system around us. I have a passion for helping family relationships heal in places where they are broken, and thrive in places that are stagnant. I especially love journeying with parents and their children, strengthening bonds and decreasing family conflict. My training has predominantly been in family psychology, and I love to watch families transform together -- as individuals and as whole units.

Dr. Clark has extensive training and experience helping family, including eight years working as a Director of Child and Family Services for a large medical facility. Dealing with the stresses of raising children can become overwhelming, and often problem seem to repeat themselves with no hope in sight. It can be very helpful to get another point of view from an objective psychologist.

Many times families need help to deal with struggles between them, or to get through difficult circumstances. Each relationship within a family is different from all others, and may need specific opportunities to express thoughts and feelings. Supportive and encouraging therapy may be just what is needed to remove blocks between family members so that the love can flow again.