Family Counseling Services in Washington, NJ.

Family Therapy can be an incredible modality in shifting an entire family from unhealthy dynamics and unhappiness to peace and healthy relationships. Since my primary specialty is Addiction, I see many families with this obstacle. The solution often is not only that the addict needs to change but the entire family system. My passion is working with families and seeing this beautiful transformation come from such despair.

One of the most common forms of Family Therapy is Structural Family Therapy. This modality focuses on examining how our family of origin, influences our relationships and engagement. This includes biological, adoptive and families of choice. The Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy approach also examines the larger ecosystem of a family, such as their community connection and support systems which can be used to help overcome challenges.

Families have many challenges in these times. I have experience with issues ranging from divorce, to medical illnesses, to traumatic family experiences. I have years of experience as an adolescent therapist, on an inpatient and an outpatient level. I have specific experience with the family dynamics of aging and dementia. This can be a challenging issue, but with the right strategies you can succeed.

It has been said that members of a family are like the creatures on a child's mobile - when one moves, they all move. I help families understand their relationships with each other, and how each family member influences and impacts the entire family unit. I work with families to help them learn effective communication and problem solving, while respecting individual autonomy.

Family therapy acknowledges and nurtures the importance of mutually satisfying relationships with each family member. It is meant as a way to help you support your well-being by discovering healthier and stronger ways to relate to others. The family therapists at The Therapy Gal will work to help you understand more about the familial relationships in your life, how you can deal with them, the potential generational trauma and ultimately what tools you can use to improve these relationships.

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.

Families are under tremendous pressure to function well together without having the skills to do that. I work with the family to develop skills in listening, appreciation, working more effectively as a team.In our current over-scheduled, over-pressured world, families are confronting problems they have little capacity to do anything about. We can tend to cope by getting stuck in a narrow range of behaviors and responses even if they are not helpful. A child who has learned to have temper tantrums when she is angry, and her parents who have learned to punish or pamper her, are stuck in maladaptive, non-growthful environments—‘a bad play’. It’s like playing the same part in the same play on the....

During Family Therapy we deal with: patterns of communication (the way people in the family talk to each other); anger (how that sabotages the family); correcting dysfunctional patters, and negotiation (how to work out things so that everybody feels O.K. about the solutions). During family counseling families learn how to deal with crisis as well conflict management techniques. Also included are effective parenting skills for both children as well as teenagers. Therapy needs to have practical strategies and to be as short term as possible.

Family therapy is often a HUGE step for family's that find themselves reaching out for it. Kudos to you if you are making the choice to engage in the conflict and issues that are present in your family's life right now. It takes a lot of courage for everyone who is choosing to be involved. My approach to family therapy is working to make sure everyone has a voice in the room and that it feels safe for each member involved in the process. It also is to help each family member to identify their role in the family conflict and how they can help aid in making change for their family unit. It can be messy, but you often have to walk through the mess in order to find healing and a way forward.

Families are very interesting and fun to work with. Every family has a unique and powerful strength to survive any obstacle. That strength can be hard to find if it is covered by years of loss, pain, and/or trauma. I offer a systemic, structural family therapy model that helps families communicate more effectively, develop appropriate boundaries, create trusting and fulfilling relationships, and establish healthy attachments in order to make the home environment more enjoyable.