Family Counseling Services in San Pedro, CA.

If you are at your wits end trying to balance the confusing and demanding needs of one or all family members you may benefit from my ability to help you sort it all out. With me you will find someone capable to help listen compassionately to all and give you and your family the relief of having an experienced coach. I can help improve communication and prescribe learning experiences that give you confidence in better problem solving.

What future do you want for your family? Stressors can affect families in many ways. Family therapy provides the opportunity to change your family’s relationship to its problems and the effects those problems have on each person in your family. Families come to therapy for a variety of reasons: single parenthood; underperformance at school; birth of a new sibling; unemployment; relocation; substance abuse; mental illness; divorce; blending families; grief and loss. If your family is experiencing difficulty, family therapy is a way to increase communication and understanding, while discovering sources of strength and support within your family.

If you meet with us, we will begin therapy working with the adults to better understand their perception of the problems. Then we will work to help the adults gain insight into their part of the family dysfunction. Once those patterns change usually the children or teens respond favorably to the changes and often the acting out behaviors can be resolved fairly quickly.

Therapy focuses on the patterns of interaction between family members, and emphasizes improved communication and connection as an important factor to create change. Involving various family members in treatment helps to benefit so that everyone has a similar understanding of the issues within the relationships, and expectations of others. The most important factor within those connections is personal accountability so that each member is taking responsibility for any actions they cause to the system, versus being focused on how other members may have hurt them.

I routinely work with families in my practice. There are any number of reasons that families seek counseling. Quite frequently, the reasons revolve around children and parenting. Sometimes there are issues between child or adult siblings. Unresolved conflicts from childhood. Arguments ensue over the family business. Caring for a special needs child, or an aging parent. At other times, family members have experienced a loss in the family or there are struggles with blending families in second marriages. These struggles also bring with them opportunities to create openings that may not have existed before. Counseling can be very useful in healing old wounds and settling disputes.

ARE YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS IN CONFLICTS OR CRISIS? Counseling helps! I take a unique and effective approach to family therapy- addressing the needs and clarifying the roles of every individual in the system so that everyone knows where they are, where the family is and take the steps they need to a healthier and happier family. Call for a free telephone consult.

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.

No two families were created alike. Therefore, therapy has to be customized to suit the particular dynamics of each family. Assembly-line approaches won't work. Healthy communication and individual growth within each family member as well as the entire family system are some important goals in family therapy. One family systems approach I Integrate in my counseling is that of Carl Whitaker's. This involves "authentically 'being' with the family and their anxieties rather than aloofly applying predetermined techniques." Individuation is a priority-- each member is allowed his/her own perceptions and treatment as an individual.

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!

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.

We are a married couple in a blended family who understands the range of dynamics and challenges a family can face. We can help you deal with differences of opinions on finances, housing, children and in-laws. We understand the complexities of raising children and step-parenting. Are you having difficulty with boundaries, rules and discipline? Is one of you feeling like an outsider in your own family? We work on creating new roles and understanding baggage from families of origin. We encourage exploring fears around the lost fantasy of what a family "should" be. We can help you find new ways to form secure alliances and open communication.

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.

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.