Family Counselling Services in Tottenham, ON.

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.

My interest in Family Therapy grew out of my work with patients in acute care hospitals. As I interacted with the patients and their families, I realized that if one family member is in pain, all the family members are somehow affected. This insight caused me to shift my focus away from the more traditional psychodynamic theories I was earlier taught in University and to focus instead on how family therapy and family systems brought healing. This growing body of literature, which started in the 1960s, has revolutionized my thinking, enabling me to find a more generous, holistic, and integrated approach to patient care and family healing. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation today

Families will have a safe and supportive space to improve communication, resolve conflicts, and strengthen their relationships. Therapy can help family members develop a deeper understanding of each other's perspectives, improve trust and empathy, and learn effective problem-solving skills. We can offer tools to address family dynamics, improve parenting strategies, and navigate life transitions. Issues such as divorce, substance abuse, or mental health challenges that affect the entire family can be addressed within this space.

Life is particularly difficult for families these days. With the challenges of both parents working, the confusing world of social networking and technology, social peer relations conflicts, confusing alignments in the separated/divorced and blended parenting roles, it is no wonder that families get lost. In my sessions, a trusting warm and safe environment is established where clients feel that they can share their concerns and be heard. Through CBT and mediation, the family is given strategies to assist them in getting their family unit working together with the goal of “getting back on track”. Organizational tools and reasonable expectations are important key strategies also given.

When one family member is depressed, stressed, angry, or otherwise not at their best, it deeply affects the rest of the family. Sometimes individual therapy is the correct path, but often, addressing relationship dynamics within the family system is the quickest, most direct way of dealing with the issue. I work with all ages and all combinations of family members.

Imagine a family as a tree with branches, roots, trunk representing parts of the immediate and extended family. When working with families, all elements are considered. Usually there is a request for family therapy due to one of it's members in crisis, often a child. However, when an analysis of need is done it becomes apparent that more than one member of the family needs help in adjusting, growing and learning new behaviours. Clients contact me for a variety of reasons: to improve communications, solve family problems, support in special situations such as death, divorce, marriage, illness, child or adolescent issues.

We will work together to achieve more harmony & less conflict in your family. We may need to work through helping you & your family members adjust to difficulties or transitions you are going through or have gone through. Each family member's opinions (including children) will be valued. All family members will be validated & each person will be given a voice & time to share their thoughts on what is & isn't working in family life. I have years of experience helping clients with: parent-child conflict; parent disagreements; blended family issues; coping with a sick or mentally ill family member; dealing with trauma and loss; grief. We will work to achieve compromise.