Family therapy services in 19424: Blue Bell, PA. Relationship and couples counseling.

Families are very interesting and fun to work with. Every family has a unique and powerful strength to survive any obstacle. That strength can be hard to find if it is covered by years of loss, pain, and/or trauma. I offer a systemic, structural family therapy model that helps families communicate more effectively, develop appropriate boundaries, create trusting and fulfilling relationships, and establish healthy attachments in order to make the home environment more enjoyable.

One of the most common forms of Family Therapy is Structural Family Therapy. This modality focuses on examining how our family of origin, influences our relationships and engagement. This includes biological, adoptive and families of choice. The Eco-Systemic Structural Family Therapy approach also examines the larger ecosystem of a family, such as their community connection and support systems which can be used to help overcome challenges.

Families are under tremendous pressure to function well together without having the skills to do that. I work with the family to develop skills in listening, appreciation, working more effectively as a team.In our current over-scheduled, over-pressured world, families are confronting problems they have little capacity to do anything about. We can tend to cope by getting stuck in a narrow range of behaviors and responses even if they are not helpful. A child who has learned to have temper tantrums when she is angry, and her parents who have learned to punish or pamper her, are stuck in maladaptive, non-growthful environments—‘a bad play’. It’s like playing the same part in the same play on the....

As a trained Marriage & Family Therapist and a mother of two, I can help you to navigate the challenges of marriage and parenting. Simply put, we all want to be loved and accepted for who we are. What family does not wish this for everyone involved? Unfortunately, as a result of day to day stressors, ineffective communication, learned defensive behaviors, and a simple lack of know-how, families can fail to accomplish this simple task for one another. Therapy can turn this cycle around by allowing family members to rediscover each other's perspectives and true selves, replacing conflict and misunderstanding, with harmony and compassion.

Families have many challenges in these times. I have experience with issues ranging from divorce, to medical illnesses, to traumatic family experiences. I have years of experience as an adolescent therapist, on an inpatient and an outpatient level. I have specific experience with the family dynamics of aging and dementia. This can be a challenging issue, but with the right strategies you can succeed.

I love when children/teens and their parents all come in together. Some worry it will be awkward but I make a point to have it be relaxed and conversational. I help parents understand the social culture and stressors impacting their kids' lives, as well as help them express their concerns in ways that don't feel like lectures to their kids. In turn, I help kids to articulate their struggles in ways that their parents can appreciate and empathize with. Respect and responsibility is an important part of any work I do with families, and helping parents to balance their expressions of compassion with their need to hold their kids accountable is always part of the conversation.

During Family Therapy we deal with: patterns of communication (the way people in the family talk to each other); anger (how that sabotages the family); correcting dysfunctional patters, and negotiation (how to work out things so that everybody feels O.K. about the solutions). During family counseling families learn how to deal with crisis as well conflict management techniques. Also included are effective parenting skills for both children as well as teenagers. Therapy needs to have practical strategies and to be as short term as possible.

Carol has counseled and provided consultation to many families with special needs children. Her services included working with children with autism, learning disabilities, tourette's syndrome, central auditory processing disorder and gifted. Parenting a special needs child can be challenging. There are times when families need assistance with home or school issues. Counseling can be beneficial, and help not only the parents, but the entire family. I also offer consultation regarding IEP's and GIEP's. Tom also provides family therapy, and his specialty area is adjudicated youth, and adolescent issues, co-parenting and families in crisis.

Family is the backbone of our society. So many things in our lives make having peace in our home very difficult. I believe that home needs to be our safe place. I work with families to help them forgive hurts, communicate about what is really going on and to love each other the way God intended us to. I create an environment that leads to greater understanding and a deeper love.