Family Counseling Services in New York City, NY.

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 a system with their own culture, beliefs, and ways of being. Every family member contributes to this culture. Not much progress can be accomplished without recognizing how the thoughts, behaviors, and emotions of each individual influences the entire structure. Family therapy is a way of addressing the whole unit rather than one individual. Members attending sessions vary. so, I use a variety of techniques including but not limited to art, writing, role-playing, and games. Fair warning, family therapy includes listening to your other family members, compromising, and active effort in trying new techniques or activities at home.

What makes working with you as a family different than you as an individual is your family has an identity as well. In fact, the health of your family has a great deal to do with how much you acknowledge the distinction between yourself as an individual and who you are a part of a family. In our work together, you and your partner will begin to differentiate yourselves as individuals from who you are in your family so that you can begin to nurture both.

Keeping the family strong means that you have a strong support system around you. I work with the family to help members better understand the system that they have created, how it is functioning, and how it is serving them. The goal is to understand the system by assessing its strengths and weaknesses to better use it to support and sustain its members.

Careers and children each place enormous stress on a couple’s ability to be together in an intimate and satisfying way. Every couple has different ways of dealing with the challenges, and counseling can provide the perspective and encouragement to re-create a shared vision for the future. For something as important as this, it is surprising how little training and preparation is provided; family therapy fills in the blanks, and resolves the confusion.

I enjoy doing both family counseling. I get to know each member of the family individually and the family dynamic, and how each person perceives the presenting problem. I am careful not to take sides and blame any one family member. All deserve respect. I work to learn more and to help you be more curious about whatever problem you are coming to me to resolve.

Family support during these trying times is important to me. At my practice I make a supportive, trusting, empathic evironment, for famlies to explore layers of multi generational trauma, communication patterns, and dysfunction. These sessions can be virtual or in person in the Rochester NY area. I look forward to partnering with family systems to improve circumstances that are causing stress.

It is important to hear everyone's side in a family session. Ensuring each individual feels comfortable enough to speak up is important. Allowing the family to express themselves in a safe environment with the help of a therapist could help the family at home. I have experience working with a number of different family systems. I incorporate both verbal and non-verbal therapy techniques into these sessions to see improvement in family dynamics.

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.