Family Counseling Services in Estacada, OR.

Family conflict, communication difficulties, intercultural issues, blended families, and many other scenarios affect families today. Whether one member of a family is struggling, or many, the whole family may experience distress. I believe in helping the system to gain health, instead of pointing out one person as the problem. Allow me to walk along side your family during this difficult time and move towards a healthier happier family life.

Family therapy looks at the entire family system—parents, children, extended family members—to identify strengths and problematic behaviours. I collaborate with families on strategies for utilizing their own capabilities for resolving problems, and on developing effective communication and problem-solving skills for preventing conflicts. I specialize in working with families of teenagers, which is an age that can be challenging for both the teenagers and their parents.

Clients who are having difficulties within their family are often surprised when they begin to understand that every member of the family (yes, even dogs and cats!) have developed fairly predictable roles within a bigger family system. It is like they are actors in a play that has been rehearsed over and over. Once they understand these patterns and roles, we move forward by searching for the patterns that are positive and the ones that that are causing pain in the family system. "Would you be willing to change those entrenched roles, if it means that your family can regain some of it's balance, playfulness, and love?" I ask them. If the answer is yes, I find that families soon benefit.

Most family therapists inadvertently create more chaos through their well-intentioned efforts to assist a family move through a change process. Why? Brains are inherently deregulated (all of us, may I add) and most talking and dialoguing misses brain-centric problems that need more intensive help. Many times the emotional trauma created by years of solving problems ineffectively can wreak havoc on the brain's parasympathetic nervous system, not ever giving the family a break from flight or fight thinking. Contact us for an innovative neuroscience solution to family dysfunction. Kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.