Family Counseling Services in San Pedro, CA.

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.

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.

Family Therapy or Family Counseling is a therapeutic tool to help a family to resolve the many problems that are causing the family to hurt. Sometimes this is just an adjustment to a big life change, such as, a career change, a new baby, a move, a death in the family, launching young adults, or the sad event of the loss of a loved one. This can also involve unhealthy patterns of behavior, addictions, or abuse. With each of these family challenges I utilize a Christian model of counseling to help your family be restored to the healthy loving one you envisioned.

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.

Problems within family relationships can be difficult ones to work out. These relationships we do not choose but are born into have can have a great deal of impact and influence over so much of our lives. Sometimes having an unbiased perspective to discuss family issues can allow for awareness and positive change to occur. Learning about how patterns were established and passed down can bring understanding. Family therapy is an opportunity for each member of the family to be heard and for the family as a whole to develop healthier relationships.

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.

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.

Often times, the patterns of the household and family that you have lived with are not pleasant. Disruptions, hurt feelings, and not being understood or "respected" can cause lingering resentments that can negatively impact our household more often than we want. I will work with you and your family to identify the patterns that work and more importantly, the ones that do not work. We will then commit to an active plan to make changes that will bring about more peace and satisfaction in the home. Even when things are really bad, small tweaks can make a huge difference. Let me help you and your family achieve fulfillment in the home!

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.

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.

Parent-child conflicts, sibling rivalry that has gotten out of hand, issues arising from divorce or parental conflict all these issues need to be discussed and have a supported and open conversation with your family members. I will work together with the family in order to identify areas of dysfunction and to help the family move through the difficult times that a family faces.

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.

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.

Family Therapy is essential when a family is unbalanced and in need of guidance on how to become a family unit with a healthier structure. Working with a therapist you will be able to validate each family members desires, discuss family goals and improve communication skills to continue using even after therapy ends. Family therapy is not only essential to the family unit but for each individual to be able to feel important and included in family decisions.

I take a systemic approach in dealing with familial work. I am trained in Family Systems Theory and work with the family unit to identify goals and establish objectives at the outset of therapy. By examining family dynamics, together we can work to create change by establishing clear boundaries and improving communication skills. Often, I incorporate both a Humanistic and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy techniques in work with families as well.

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.

The only type of family therapy I provide is Maudsley Family-Based Treatment or FBT. This is a specific evidence-based treatment for adolescent eating disorders. I am one of only a few therapists in LA County certified in FBT. The treatment empowers parents to be part of the treatment team and requires their active participation. Treatment initially focuses on weight restoration and/or elimination of bingeing and purging behaviors, with the parents given the task of providing adequate nutrition for their adolescent during family meals.

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 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.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.