Family Counselling Services in Puslinch, ON.

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.

It is not uncommon in families for patterns to be set and sometimes these patterns are not healthy or helpful for family relationships, or individual mental health. We often learn to tolerate our family members’ behaviour and have difficulty speaking up or expressing how their behaviour impacts us. In my sessions with families, I encourage open, honest communication and ensure that each individual feels validated and gets equal time to be heard. Often difficult conversations can be more successful when there is a neutral person facilitating and promoting respectful, non-confrontational interaction. If you think your family would benefit from my support and guidance, please book a free consu

Our first connection with love is with family, in its complex, colorful, and sometimes chaotic forms. It is also an area that can be the source of conflict and misunderstanding. In our Family Counselling sessions, I am not a referee, but instead I am a facilitator for difficult conversations. Together we will create a safe space where each voice is heard, everyone’s story is acknowledged, without judgment or expectation.

Families are remarkably resilient and have wonderful potential to heal one another. They typically develop patterns and structural characteristic over great periods of time that enable them to respond to both stressors from outside and inside the family. Helping families look at their patterns in novel ways, empowers them to make small and sometimes simple changes, greatly impacting outcomes. Family therapy is all about learning more about the patterns that keep families suspended when they desire change. In addition, family therapy harnesses the power and uniqueness of each family to recover and grow as a unit.

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.

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.

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.

I believe that relationships are a key determinant to one’s mental health. I focus on unpacking dysfunctional relational dynamics commonly experienced in one’s family of origin such as: enmeshment, co-dependency and people pleasing. Together, we may explore early attachment styles, underlying trauma wounds including intergenerational trauma and communicating healthy boundary setting

[I ONLY OFFER VIDEO SESSIONS THROUGHOUT ALBERTA FOR FAMILY THERAPY - NOT ONTARIO]. None of us took degrees on how to be great parents, yet despite our best efforts, things can go amuck quickly. I have a son and a daughter of my own… I know how challenging raising children and making families work can be. I have been a psychologist since 1986. Let’s not waste time but instead get down to the issues that are affecting your family right now. Book an appointment by going to https://app.acuityscheduling.com/schedule.php?owner=14249112

In working with families I am most interested in ways patterns replicate through generations. From this place of awareness families, and particularly parents, can make choices about their more preferred ways of relating. I love including playfulness into family sessions such as exploring a forest for what reminds each family member of their perspective of home.

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.

I provide a nurturing and inclusive space where all family members can come together to explore and heal relational dynamics. By fostering open communication, promoting empathy, and strengthening family bonds, I work collaboratively with families to address conflicts, improve understanding, and cultivate healthy patterns of interaction. Through this transformative process, clients can experience improved family cohesion, enhanced problem-solving skills, and a deeper understanding of one another. Family therapy offers an opportunity for growth, healing, and the building of stronger, more resilient relationships that can positively impact the entire family system.

Family Systems Approach. The family systems approach is a theory developed by psychiatrist Murray Bowen in the 1950s. Specifically, Dr. Bowen built family systems theory and its concepts assume that there is an emotional system governing human relationships in families. Based on the roles within the system, people are expected to interact with and respond to one another in a certain way. Patterns develop within the system, and each member's behaviors impact the other members in predictable ways.