Family Counseling Services in Spring Valley Lake, CA.

Communication, joy, happiness, togetherness, trust, respect, faithfulness, honesty. These are the things we all want and expect in our relationships. Unfortunately, what starts out as a dream can sometimes turn into a nightmare, in what seems overnight. Your once happy family is now struggling just to stay together. You don’t talk, spend time together, pray with or for one another… You live separate lives of strangers. You fight, argue and sometimes avoid one another on purpose. You hope and pray every day that today will be the day that God heals your family, brings you closer together and turns all the pain and frustration back into joy and laughter. You’re embarrassed by what’s going

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.

In family therapy the issues are clarified, and then the importance of mutual respect and understanding of the needs of each member is emphasized. I help families members collaborate with each other to set up basic rules and chore assignments, and then work out appropriate consequences for violations. Each member of the family is to become aware of the fact that he/she has an important function in the family dynamics.

Most family therapists inadvertently create more chaos through their well-intentioned efforts to assist a family move through a change process. Why? Brains are inherently deregulated (all of us, may I add) and most talking and dialoguing misses brain-centric problems that need more intensive help. Many times the emotional trauma created by years of solving problems ineffectively can wreak havoc on the brain's parasympathetic nervous system, not ever giving the family a break from flight or fight thinking. Contact us for an innovative neuroscience solution to family dysfunction. Kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.