Family Counselling Services in Bluewater, ON.

I am a Family therapist with experience in a children's mental health setting. I do parental coaching, helping parents find effective strategies, and I help blended families find a way to integrate those big changes smoothly. I will help you understand each other, we will identify the behavioural patterns that no longer work for you and develop new strategies for effective communication.

None of us were handed a degree in how to be great parents, and even with our best efforts, family life can go sideways fast. I have a son and a daughter of my own, so I know how challenging raising children and holding a family together can be. Rather than spending weeks circling the problem, I like to get to the issues that are affecting your family right now. I have been a psychologist since 1986. I am based in Calgary and see clients across Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick by secure video. Book a session now: https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

I believe that families should be a place where love, respect, value, care, support and encouragement are received consistently. Where children honour and obey their parents and parents are considerate and understanding towards their children as they strategically and intentionally raise their children. Through counseling, I can help to develop healthy relationships between family members in general and between parents and children specifically. It is possible to have a healthy and happy family.

In my family therapy practice, we will work on strengthening the overall health of your family system, not just resolving one relationship within it. Whether it is looking at conflicts that repeat, emotional distances that develop, or uneven power dynamics, I strive to create an atmosphere that develops clearer communication and safer connection. My approach places an emphasis on structure and boundaries so that conversations can be productive and emotionally safe, particularly when teens are involved. The goal is a calmer, more harmonious family environment where challenges and needs can be addressed without disrupting the sense of safety and belonging.

I would use the Systems Theory and Narrative approach to help families communicate what they view as the concerns within their family. Also using Middle Path, from DBT, as an approach to bridge the dialectical views between the individuals in the family which is causing conflict. Validating the different perspectives as individuals and looking for the kernal of truth, allows them to see the bigger picture through the lens of other members within the family.

Family relationships are complex and are oftentimes impacted by various events, life transitions, and societal shifts. I believe that every family is unique and that your efforts to navigate challenges are valid and purposeful. As a family therapist, my aim is to help you strengthen your relationships with one another and to support you in finding a balance between your individual and family needs. I also help you to identify possible areas of stuckness and conflict as well as strengths and resources, so that together, we can create hoped-for solutions. Contact me or book a free consultation if you wish to learn more.

If you drive with a flat tire the whole system is affected. Your car will not go smoothly nor straight. You use lots of effort trying to get to where you want to go; and the passengers are stressed! The same happens in families. If there is a problem with one or more family members, we tend to point at him/ her/ them. We want to "fix" them. However, I believe there are more than one way to look at the same situation: it is usually a systemic problem. Join the whole family in therapy. In a safe and friendly environment, you can each be heard and seen as you really are, and together arrive at a solution. This can be a very rewarding, educational, FUN and loving experience for all.

Family therapy can be helpful for many types of family relationships including parents and their children or even an individual hoping to address internal issues related to their family. I use Family Systems Theory to be able to understand deeper patterns of communication and family dynamics. Our role within our family system can often dictate how we move within the world and our future relationships. This is why it becomes very important to address the emotions and patterns that originate from our family system and use these insights to enter into more fulfilling relationships. Call today and book a free consultation to discuss your unique needs!

Family dynamics are complicated. Each family has established patterns, such as how everyone communicates within the family system, how they deal with stressful situations and conflict, their roles in the family unit and how members seek support from one another. While I do not offer family therapy sessions, my clinic, Psychotherapy Collective has many child and family therapists availability to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure they are the proper fit for your journey. Visit our family therapy page to find a therapist https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/services/child-and-family-therapy

Family therapy works because each of us is really also like a small group - with parent, child, sibling aspects (part selves) within us. It’s as if you personally contain an internal family. So when your own actual family is working well, those 'sides' of the family members do learn with each other. But they can also clash... Family (or couple) therapy is about harmonizing these relationships, both in each person as well as within the family group. I have over 35 years of experience in family therapy and see positive change occur even in tough situations. Family members move past simple role routines of who Mom, Dad, son and daughter are Supposed to Be, more aware of how to live in harmony.

Family therapy is a wonderful way to tackle family issues. It usually means learning to communicate differently and more effectively. Each family has its spoken and unspoken family rules. Helping these unspoken rules to become more visible or to revise current ones, can clarify misconceptions and assumptions. Since every family has unique problems, they also have unique solutions as well! Therapy can help a family to "see themselves in a whole new light" and realize they have everything they need to make their lives even better.

Do you find that your relationships with your adult children are strained, and you struggle to form relationships with your grandchildren? Do you wish you could rely on your parents as an adult but find they have difficulty respecting your boundaries? Family therapy can help you understand one another better and help you learn to communicate so that everyone feels respected and understood.

Family dynamics are complicated. Each family has established patterns, such as how everyone communicates within the family system, how they deal with stressful situations and conflict, their roles in the family unit and how members seek support from one another. While I do not offer family therapy sessions, my clinic, Psychotherapy Collective has many child and family therapists availability to schedule a free 15-minute consultation to ensure they are the proper fit for your journey. Visit our family therapy page to find a therapist https://www.psychotherapycollective.ca/services/child-and-family-therapy

The ‘secret’ to successful help for distressed families is clear-eyed application of what we commonly know: although linked by blood, generations and/or commitment alone, we are much more different from one another than alike. But it can be very hard to appreciate some differences at such close range. Like when our child, partner, parent, sibling, or combinations (and with moods/ other changes, do we ever stay the same?) seem out to hurt instead of love or even like us. Some differences make that hard to attain, even impossible. Yet making sense and discovering how to ‘navigate’ these complex primary relationships is essential to our wellbeing. My experience as family therapist is reliable.

My background in relational therapy allows me to understand individuals through the relationships they cohabit. Families come in various forms and sizes, and at times, navigating through these relational dynamics and understanding differing perspectives may be difficult. Throughout our time together, we will work to make each member’s voice heard, find ways of communication that feel helpful, and establish and restore connection. Please reach out for a free consultation to see if we are a good fit.