Family Counseling Services in San Pedro, CA.

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 is a unique opportunity to be in the room with a very important system that holds power in people's lives. Often, problems loom over family units, making the unique values, gifts, and strengths of that unit recede into the background. Having family members all together can be a chance to create space for voices to be heard and revisit the importance that each person plays in the lives of the family.

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.

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 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.

As a Family Therapist, I specialize in facilitating conversations where all voices can be heard and new understanding can be reached. Psychotherapy offers many opportunities for dialogue. My approach opens space for different experiences, perspectives and possibilities for the future. It is a chance to heal past hurts, deepen relationships and move forward with increased sharing and connection.

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.

Often times we don't realize the impact our birth families have on how we function on a day to day basis and the difficulties we face. Take this opportunity to explore the dynamics of your childhood, learn how your relationships with immediate and extended family members has impacted your approach to current relationships, work, changes in life and potential stressors.

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 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 style to family therapy is to look at the family system as a whole. One person's suffering can be sympomatic of the family and I can help guide the family to a healthier style of communicating, interacting and bring you closer together. Having a large family of my own gives me the added edge in understanding the challenges that are faced on a daily basis!

Each person in a family has a voice and each person in a family has an impact. I am careful to make certain that the family looks at all the members and how they all interact as a family unit. It is important that each member is respected. We look at how the family is not in a state of health due to choices that the family is making. We work together toward connection, understanding, and growth for all memebers. Unhealthy alliances and interactions are acknowledged.

Families can be very complex and sometimes hard to understand with so many different roles that each family member may play. Family therapy would be very helpful with understanding each member of the family and how each one functions on a daily basis. Therapy would also provide tools to learn how to listen and have more effective communication with each other.