Family Counselling Services in Streetsville, ON.

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.

All families are the same and all families are different. Therapy is based on the family as an organised social unit that goes through phases of gradual but emotionally-charged change. Roles and functions often collide with personal needs and changing individual needs and hormonal behaviours that will clash with parenting styles triggering power struggles. Family dynamics must find a way to balance the conflicting childrens' needs to assert distinct identities while integrating conflicting parental values. Family therapy is difficult but growth-inducing for all but I find it helpful to see individuals separately for them to express ideas and feelings freely as it helps with communication.

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.

I follow evidence based practice for family therapy where I help family members improve their communications and develop healthy boundaries to build a safe environment. Family counselling helps navigating the challenges together and build a sense of belonging along with learning problem solving and conflict resolution skills to support each other.Family counselling also helps in understanding one's own family culture and how it impacts them individually and collectively.

True healing can happen in the presence of a safe environment, with emotionally safe connections. I believe that ruptured connections have potential for healing and provide opportunities for increased intimacy. Together, I will help the family unit explore the cycles of unhelpful interactions that are blocking a true sense of closeness, safety and security. My job will not be to take sides or place blame; rather I will try to help you get to the root causes of your relational dynamics from an attachment-driven lens.

Through my sessions, I can help you improve troubled relationships with your partner, children or other family members. You may address specific issues such as marital or financial problems, conflict between parents and children, or the impact of substance abuse or a mental illness on the entire family during sessions that you and I can design together to meet your best needs. Email me or Call me for a 15 min free initial consult; I am accepting new clients !

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.

A family of four walks into a bar... (okay, therapist's office, fine) each with a different reason why they're there. Also, some of them don't want to be there at all! Get it! Actually, there's no punch-line, it's just normally how it goes. Regardless of what event brings them through the door, families often come in feeling divided and disconnected. That's why my job is to find the common ground so that everyone feels like they're being respected, heard, and have something to gain from the experience. My hope is that you will leave here: 1) Feeling more unified around a common goal 2) Clarity for how to move forward together 3) A renewed sense of what matters most

In order to gain a better understanding of a person's situation, their behaviour is explored in the context of Family Systems Therapy (FST). FST looks at the family as an emotional unit and identifies the patterns of interactions that are maintaining the challenges, including the patterns of communication & language used to discuss the challenges. This helps to better understand the impact of family dynamics, family values, beliefs about gender roles, status or power of family members, and cultural & ethnicity on a person's self-perception. I also use strengths-based practices with families in order to transfer strengths of individuals & family systems into therapeutic awareness.

Our relationships with our family are some of the most complex relationships of our lives. Being able to communicate our needs and feelings with our loved ones is crucial to our well-being and is an essential part of a successful parent/child relationship. Over time, families co-create a language and ways of interacting and being. However, as we enter times of stress and change, and our children grow, we start to develop independent languages that cause us to feel unheard, and invalidated. Sessions will allow you to be intentional about sharing with each other and provide a safe place to open up, repair hurts, and relearn each other's language.

As a family counselor, I approach therapy with the belief that each family has unique strengths and challenges. My goal is to help families recognize and build upon their strengths, while also addressing areas that may be causing tension or conflict. I strive to create a safe and non-judgmental environment where each member of the family can feel heard and understood. Through communication and collaboration, we can work together to improve relationships, develop healthier coping strategies, and create a stronger family unit. Whether it's navigating a difficult life transition, addressing behavioral issues with children, or improving communication between family members, I am dedicated to hel

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.

None of us operate as 'island's' and it's been said that in any relationship with more than one person in it can expect dysfunction! Family Systems Theory was what made feel like I'd love to be a therapist. Working with families to support understanding and teach skills that will bring the opportunity for more peace and joy in relationships is very rewarding.

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.

Our families and those around us shape who we will become and our thought patterns. We learn our language, habits and how to view the world through the influence of our families. When we have healthy family relationships it is easier to maintain healthy relationships within and outside of our family. Family therapy helps families develop and maintain healthy and functional units. I employ aspects of Bowenian and Structural therapy to work with families to help deal with domestic violence, depression, anxiety, grief, child/adolescent behavioral issues to name a few.

Family can often be the single most powerful element in our mental health journey. Like any relationship though, families often struggle with communication, forgiveness and conflict resolution. At Whiteboard we employ evidence-based techniques to help families heal and become whole again. These techniques not only involve patience and skill, they also require the lived experience that many of our counsellors have at our clinic.

Depression is not something to be ashamed of , nor is it a character flaw or a sign of a weak personality. No one with depression can just "snap out of it". You wouldn't ask someone to "snap out of diabetes or some other illness, and you cannot expect it of a person with depression. Everyone gets sad sometimes - a brief blue mood, feelings of disappointment or loss. The great news is that up to 80% of people who recieve proper treatment improve as a result. There are two principle modes of treatment for depression - Psychotherapy and medication. Your not alone, millions of families and friends have felt exactly like you. Your one step closer to change

Our families can benefit from family therapy when they experience any stressful event that puts pressure on family relationships, such as financial hardship, family fractures or break ups, or the death of a loved one. Some issues we would focus on in family sessions are improving communication and solving conflicts, exploring ways we can support a family member who is experiencing difficulties, and how to grow stronger moving forward. It can seem like a monumental task. However with hope, optimism and commitment families can get better.

Families are complicated systems will all sorts of problems, often due to misunderstandings. I have worked with many families to improve communication leading to more harmonious living situations. This often takes some compromise. I would be happy to work with your family to help you understand each other and live more peacefully. *I work with children and parents who are divorced however I do not work with families where custody is in dispute. I do not provide custody assessments.*

When working with families I aim to focus on common ground and shared hopes and goals. This sets the stage for collaboratively working through conflicts so that common goals can be achieved. Focusing on positive family experiences and strengths of the family are also helpful in reconnecting family members. Understanding relationship patterns and encouraging new ways of communicating and interacting often allows families to practice different ways of being with and understanding one another and can often alleviate tension for more pleasurable family experiences.

All families are unique. I work with any configuration of a family system (intergenerational, siblings, one parent, same- sex parents). My approach to therapy is to promote enhancement of individuals' strengths and family resources (support systems, membership in the community). I assist each member of the family identify changes they desire for the family and explore positive solutions for change between members. It is my hope that in the end all members feel more connected and stronger as a whole while participating positively in family life and the community. Allow me to be instrumental in guiding your family to a place of hope, healing and renewal.

I look at family therapy as a pattern from the family of origin, if growing up was dysfunctional; faced issues such as abuse, substance abuse, poor health, or poverty, did not adequately demonstrate love, that person may experience difficulties in these areas later in life and show up in their family. They might also, have developed coping strategies or related strengths in the face of a difficult upbringing. Without an awareness of how these issues affected them, it is likely that the negative pattern may be repeated over time. A child who witnesses parents make certain choices or engage in certain behaviors may develop a tendency to behave in a similar manner.

Family counseling is a unique form of counseling that focuses on improving the relationships and communication within a family unit. I believe that this approach can be particularly effective in helping clients to resolve conflicts, build stronger relationships, and develop more effective coping mechanisms. One of the key benefits of family counseling is that it can provide clients with a safe and supportive environment to communicate and address their concerns. Family members can learn to express themselves more effectively, listen to one another with empathy, and work collaboratively towards a common goal.

I am passionate about working with perinatal mood disorders and parenting issues. I feel this is an under-served population that needs more recognition and resources. Parenting can be an incredibly rewarding yet challenging journey. Starting from the challenges of pregnancy and the postpartum period to the teenage years, parents often feel adrift in navigating the terrain. I work with parents to help uncover their values, while providing them with skills and resources to feel more in control.

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’!