Family Counselling Services in Alberton, ON.

Family therapy can be very helpful in improving communication and reducing conflict, increasing cooperation in the family. Families going through changes and transitions can benefit from having someone facilitate communication and cooperative problem solving. Are you facing challenges in your adult family relationships? Family therapy can be a way to have the difficult conversations you would like to have with family members and come to a place of better understanding and acceptance.

Dr. Van Blyderveen, Dr. Saliba, and Dr. Brunet each offer family therapy at New Leaf Psychology Centre. Through family therapy, you and your family will learn to communicate more effectively with one another, better understand each other, and experience more frequent moments of closeness. Attention will be given to balancing the relationship quality with the different roles of parents and children. Dr. Saliba has a special interest in working with blended families, and Dr. Brunet has a special interest in facilitating attachment between young children (ages 0 through 6) and their parents.

Sometimes the difficulties occurring in a family are systemic - which means that there is not really a 'problem person' but a family interaction malfunction. In family counselling, it is understood that everyone in the family impacts and affects everyone else and the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. It is also understood that the way to 'fix' a family problem is not by simply changing specific behaviours, but by changing the structure of the family. This can be a very important process for the many different types of families that we have in our society.

Family relationships are the ones that form us and often have the most meaning in our lives. My approach to family therapy begins with respect for each individual in the family with the realization that each person’s behavior affects the whole. I am an empathetic listener as well as a facilitator of healthy relationships and communication. I enjoy helping families work through conflict and develop the insight and skills needed to improve their relationships and their personal well-being.

Through a combination of Family Systems techniques, therapeutic art making, and talking therapy, I help families build communication, become aware of their habits and ways of interacting, identify problems, and come up with solutions for the best way to solve or manage these problems. I help families become a more open and cohesive unit by helping them become more aware of the ways that they interact with each other, and helping them resolve conflicts and anxieties. I help families strengthen their relationships through honesty and open communication, so that they can overcome conflicts together.

Family therapy is essential because family is our primary template for love, belonging, and how we form relationships. When these early bonds are strained or disrupted, it can deeply affect our well-being and sense of self. In therapy, we create a space to explore what a secure attachment should feel like, learn to recognize and heal dysfunctional patterns, and practice repair in ways that strengthen connection. Together, we work toward building healthier communication and deeper trust, helping each member feel valued and understood. Come see me to rediscover the potential your family has to feel like home, offering comfort, resilience, and a foundation for growth.

A common problem that I see when helping families is that parents struggle to get their kids to finish tasks, stay organized, and cannot motivate them to do, well, anything. “Unless it’s YouTube or a video game they’re just not interested and I don’t want them always depend on me for everything.” There are a number of tools and methodologies that can help with these problems. It does take time and commitment; however, with the right support and guidance easier, friction-free, happier days are very possible.

Conflict in families is a normal part of our life but situations can arise which make navigating the road of life difficult. Experiencing parent/teen difficulties? Teens have a developmental task of separating from their parents, and life at this stage can produce conflict. This does not take away from the fact that good parents are the key to producing resilient teens. Perhaps conflict is due to different parenting styles in a blended family. There are many factors which go into making a happy stress free home. Seeking help in a safe and caring environment is sometimes needed to achieve this goal.

Family therapy is in many ways the most difficult of all therapy’s simply because you have the issues of not just one person but also all involved. There is a multiplication factor equal to the number within the family plus the dynamic of how the family organizes itself around communication, conflict, and intimacy and supports it. All successful families do two things extremely well . . . create a sense of belonging and allow for the freedom to be an individual. When I work with families I bring over twenty five years of experience to every session. Almost 100% of us across the nation . . . when asked what is the most important thing in our life, will answer ‘family’!

Every family is different, but every family deserves to feel love. When this is not the case, it is time to change things up. Everyone in the family is important and deserves to be heard, understood and respected. Together, we can make this happen. This is important because this will open the doors to the needed healing and the formation of healthy expectations and boundaries that will help make sharing your love for each other easier.

Families are immersed in issues and transformative experiences that give rise to personal stories that shape the identity of each member within it and the group as a whole. Although the issues may be diverse, opportunity exists to construct new narratives capable of not only resolving them, but producing new changes, directions, and purpose in life. As a practitioner of narrative therapy, a therapy often used with families to reauthor dominant stories upheld through an integration of new perspectives, it is my pleasure to be able to collaborate in assisting with the first steps towards this.

Family dynamics can be challenging to navigate even during the best of times, and family therapy can help each member of the family unit find new ways to relate, connect, and communicate with each other. Giving each family member the chance to feel heard and valued while also navigating external stressors like work and school can be a struggle, so I work collaboratively with clients to identify and explore patterns of interaction that they want to strengthen or change, while highlighting each member’s contributions, and celebrating the family’s successes. Book a free consultation to learn more about my approach and explore if we are a good fit.

My overarching goal in family therapy is to help families overcome challenges, improve communication, and build stronger, more supportive relationships. Children and parents alike are heard and validated, in an environment that fosters honesty and safety. The specific approach used is eclectic and will depend on the unique needs and circumstances of each family.