Family Counseling Services in Rowland Heights, CA.

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 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.

My approach to treating families begins by understanding & observing how the family functions as a unit rather than focus on individual problems which arise when this is not occurring. Families face more challenges than ever before in this fast-paced world which praises achievement and success over unity. I am passionate about families and consider it a privilege to work alongside them.

When working with children and youth, the therapist cannot ignore the family system in which the child lives. I work with parents in multiple ways to help support youth in treatment, which may include separate parent sessions, co-parenting sessions, systemic family therapy, or Filial Therapy, a play therapy practice that coaches and guides parents in special play sessions with their child to decrease unwanted behaviors, improve relationships and communication, increase the child's emotional vocabulary, and increase the child's self-esteem.

Abby offers family therapy to support healthier communication, stronger relationships, and greater understanding among family members. Using a collaborative, trauma-informed approach, she helps families navigate conflict, life transitions, and emotional challenges in a safe, structured environment. Her work focuses on repairing connection, enhancing empathy, and building practical tools for managing stress and improving dynamics. Whether addressing parenting struggles, sibling conflict, or intergenerational patterns, Abby guides families toward more cohesive and supportive relationships.

Sometimes we feel as though the people that love us most don't listen to us or understand us. Family therapy is a way to be heard and ultimately understood. The approach that I take is to ensure that all members are being respectful of one another and not only listening to the other person but truly hearing them. The benefits of working together as a family is better communication, stronger feelings of closeness, and increased respect and support between loved ones.

Families enter therapy for different reasons. Many families are seeking help for an immediate problem or crisis, while others need support changing long standing negative patterns. Family therapy can be beneficial as, it provides opportunities to identify and build on strengths, improve communication, and better understand roles and dynamics that shape the family system. I have experience working with families in crisis and am skilled at assisting parents and children/adolescents increase positive communication and connectivity.

When our relationship becomes unhappy, it always affects and impacts the entire family. Working with couples to improve the relationship is important but we cannot overlook the impact to the family. In family therapy we explore problems that have negatively impacted the family from wherever it has come. We will help each member of the family to understand what is happening, how it has impacted them and explore methods of adjustment and remediation. We will identify problems and work to resolve them.

I offer a balanced approach which gives a voice to each member of your family unit. Validating individual concerns while promoting inter-familial harmony is my specialty when it comes to counseling troubled families. I will teach you and your family how to communicate in productive ways, how to set healthy boundaries with one another and how to respect your differences in an atmosphere of love and understanding.

Every family has some sort of dysfunction since individuals are not perfect. I have worked for over ten years with youth and their families. I believe family therapy is essential when working with youth since children and adolescents have limited insight and need structure, guidance, and discipline from parents/caregivers. I begin the initial session meeting with the parents/caregivers to identify and discuss problems and confidentiality. I then meet with the youth/children with the parents to work on agreed treatment goals. The ultimate goal of family therapy is to increase open and respectful communication and improve parent/child relationships.

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.

I work closely with families throughout my treatment to focus on understanding the family as a system and each member as having a unique role. Working together we can often uncover unmet needs and ways in which we can support one another towards our mutual goals. Further, by working with the family as a whole, we are able to acknowledge each of our role in the identified barrier and take ownership in our plan towards a solution.

Each member of your family has an important role that affects how your family functions. Sometimes it seems that even one person can cause most of the problems that a family experiences. Other families it may be hard to identify the cause of stress. In any case family issues can affect each individual in a powerful way causing anxiety, feelings of powerlessness, frustration and even hopelessness. Counseling can get at the root of the probllem(s) and provide affective strategies that will help your family communicate better, support and even appreciate each other more!