Family therapy services in 33919: Fort Myers, FL. Relationship and couples counseling.

Families are a whole, we each play our part. When one member is broken, is the family whole? Do you know what words and deeds have constricted or brought freedom to family members? Are there blended family issues that cannot be mixed in even at high speed? What roles do you and other members play? What parts have been prescribed, what roles are played? Do you feel that you’re caught up in an old movie; same action, same words, and the same scene over and over again? When working with families, my main approach is Systems Therapy to strengthen the family unit. However, during treatment often times there is 1 or more family members that will need to be seen in individual therapy.

Let’s define family! You get to decide. One definition – family is a group of loved ones working on the same targeted goals. There are families of all kinds – blended families, disjointed families, adult children working with their parents, youth and their parents, and so many more combinations that we could never list them all. One of the most frequent calls we receive is for family therapy, however after some discussion with you, it is often an individual within the family that first desires a change to get the family change rolling. Family therapy is similar to individual therapy or couples therapy, it just has more people. It could be any combination of 2 or more individuals working

Our approach to family therapy includes examination of individual members of the family. It is frequently observed that a family member who may have a psychiatric disorder is a source of conflict in the family. If that individual or individuals are not identified, it is unlikely that family therapy will work. So the first step is to rule out serious psychiatric disorders in the family. Our approach is to make an effective change in individuals and then work with the group because we believe that a machine can not work efficiently if all parts don't work equally well.

Why can't we all just get along? Most families have probably asked that question at some point in time. The reality is that families are dynamic relationships--constantly changing. The way you relate to one another today will likely be different from yesterday. Families are also made up of people--people who are often very different from one another--and grace is required when dealing with people. Finally, many families today are "blended families"--meaning that mom and/or dad have children from outside of their relationship with one another. Whatever your circumstances, we would love to meet your family and teach you how to embrace one another as God intended.

Families have their own unique story. Each member, usually unknowingly, is assigned a role and is expected to fulfill that role. Sometimes the fit is good, sometimes a disaster. Helping family members to understand why they do the things they do is always challenging and enlightening. Family systems resemble a dance. It is often an ungainly dance, but it is theirs. It is helpful to discover the flow, rhythm and essence of each particular dance.

When a family member is struggling with alcohol or drug addiction, the entire family is affected negatively. Communication barriers within families of addicts may cause the addict to withdraw into isolation, leaving their family members feeling frustrated, ashamed, lonely, fearful, depressed, hopeless and angry. The sources of addiction are mental, emotional and psychological in nature, and the addict, as well as their family, need to heal under the care of professionals. At Valiant Recovery, we offer counseling to the families of addicts to help them process the difficult emotions they have confronted, and to create a healthy, supportive environment for the addict to return home to.

As a family therapist, I approach a family as an absolutely fundamental - vital system. I work with a family from a multigenerational perspective using its wisdom and learning from attempted solutions – from what was not working. We are born to a family system, it is our practice field and a place where we grow, develop, mature, and also the place that we leave to apply everything that we absorbed and learned in our own family system. In a family therapy I guide family members to understand how their family works, what is each member’s role, potential, and benefit, how the family members balance each other, how to communicate, care, respect, appreciate, solve conflicts, and promote strengths.

I have so much fun working with families that are in trouble. There is nothing better than to have a family in my office that is in total disarray at the start of therapy with me only to be communicating, united, and stronger than ever after working through their therapy. Families should support one another unconditionally, communicate without fear or malice, be on the same team, and learn how to make family decisions. I teach these skills and more.