Family Counseling Services in Pacific Palisades, CA.

Emotional problems play out in families. They often start there. If this is the case: no matter how much individual therapy a person gets, things don't really seem to get better. Sometimes the whole family needs to be involved in the therapeutic process. Call me for a consultation to find the best course of action for you and your family. We can get to the root of the issues to help you start a whole new relationship with your family.

All families experience conflict, particularly during times of transition. How each member reacts and adjusts can impact the well-being of the family as a whole. Our practice works with families to identify ineffective patterns of communication and behavior, while offering emotional support to all members. Call/text us at 516-387-5143 for a free 15 minute consultation to see if we're a good fit for your family.

Problematic behaviors in a child or teen are usually rooted in some disturbance of the emotional connections within the family. I can help your family reconnect with each other using an approach called Emotionally Focused Family Therapy (EFFT). EFFT rebuilds connections by helping you to understand and change the repetitive and self-reinforcing negative interactions that create distance and conflict within your family. People are empowered when they feel a secure sense of being loved. They naturally become stronger, more resilient, and more autonomous – not weak or needy. Once your child or teen feels securely connected, he or she will have a foundation on which to build positive behaviors.

A family is not just a collection of people. Everyone in the family impacts the family dynamic, how the people relate to each other. And, each person changes that dynamic, in a unique way, even when they may not intend to. If you’re having difficulties in your family, we can address how the family’s rules of relating and the patterns of relationships can help to make things better. We’ll also see how unproductive patterns can be eliminated.

In working with families, we will collaborate on addressing the couple's need to be in charge. Family rules and boundaries are sometimes unclear to children. We will work together to communicate your expectations. When acting out, underachievement, conduct problems, defiant or oppositional behaviors present in the children, the the parents need to be on the same page. Your family will learn, insession, preferred communicatin styles; empathic listening, group problem solving skills, tolerance, respect and acceptance of each other. Family members will learn to interact without anger, resentment, sarcasm or disrespect. Parents need to be authoritative without being authoritarian.

Family therapy sessions aim to strengthen all members of the family so they can work out problems together. Often, if one family member is identified as having an illness, the cause can be traced back to a larger family problem. If the person with the illness is treated while the rest of the family does not change, then the symptoms will persist. Family therapy breaks these cycles by teaching everyone to better interact with one another.

One of the biggest challenges for a parent is that the child is always changing. Understanding what stage your child is in and what they need from you is an important part of my work. You want the best for them, but what does that mean? Does it mean always protecting them so they never get hurt, and always providing for them so they aren’t deprived? Even if you could do this, should you? In Family Counseling, I work with parents and their children individually and together to improve their relationship, reduce conflict, set boundaries, negotiate the specifics, and define a parent-child contract to help everyone move forward into a more meaningful relationship.

In family therapy, I aim to reduce distress and conflict by improving the systems of interactions between family members. Sometimes all family members are present, but that is not always possible or necessary. By adjusting the viewpoint of problems as patterns of behaviors that need adjusting, and improving communication skills, families can strengthen and resolve conflict in a more peaceful way.

In a society that has become extremely technological, many sensitive young adults have disconnected from nourishing relationships in favor of virtual ones. Connecting with parents, siblings, friends and neighbors, has been replaced by less emotionally fulfilling forms of interaction. My specialty is improving relationships. I can help you build better communication with your child. I can also assist your family in resolving issues from the past for a fresh start. I will support you in creating a more peaceful home environment. So, as difficult as things may seem right now, in working with me your can rest assured that better times ahead.

In many ways, I practice Family Therapy every day-even though I usually see only couples and individuals! The reason for this is because we all come from a family system, and our role and place in that system are revealed in every we relationship we have. The early attachment experiences we had as young ones set the stage for our intimate relationships later in life. It can be an illuminating experience to examine and understand the family system dynamics that you-and/or your spouse came from, thereby better understanding the context from which we came.

I offer family therapy for families who have young children and/or adolescents. This is a speciality! I have three therapists who have different specialtes with family therapy! One is a teen and teen parenting specialists, another specializes in families with young children and another specializes in difficult families, families and trauma and another still with single parent families or blended families (families coming together with other families). I specifically work with families and parents of teens and alterative families (gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender families - either parents are GLBT or families who have a GLBT child). Call me and one of us will be the perfect match!

My clinical approach to Family Therapy begins with an evaluation to determine and understand the issues within the family context. It is the goal of therapy to provide a safe environment for family members to express their concerns about the family dynamic. It is at the beginning of therapy that treatment goals are determined. Emotional needs for each family member will be explored. Treatment consists of teaching conflict resolution and communication skills to help family members be able to address conflict more productively and with less distress. My clinical approach consists of instilling insight for families about the relational dynamic within the family.

A healthy family is much like owning and maintaining a car. That is, if something is wrong with the car, the car won't run properly. Same goes for families. If one person is having difficulties then it affects the entire family. Family therapy helps everyone in the family work better together by addressing all the problems that are getting in the way.