Family therapy services in 17517: Denver, PA. Relationship and couples counseling.

Through our Family Education Program (FEP) at Retreat at Palm Beach and Retreat at Lancaster County, you and your family will learn the basic elements of addiction, as well as the tools and resources most associated with long term recovery. Our Family Education Program is designed to address the needs of both the patient, as well as the patient’s family.

FAMILY EDUCATION ABOUT DRUG AND ALCOHOL ABUSE Addiction not only affects the patient, but also those who love them. Retreat’s Family Education Program is designed to educate loved ones about the disease of addiction and the dynamics it creates. The goal is to facilitate and promote healthy communication skills that will lead to regaining trust and healing relationships through the process of treatment and recovery. Attendance will be scheduled through the Primary Therapist. Once family members have attended the Family Education Program, a family session may be scheduled with the Primary Therapist.

Oftentimes, one person will be identified as the problem in a family system, but, oftentimes, they are simply the one who has been showing the symptoms of the dysfunction in the family, rather than themselves having an individual issue. Families can address this by sitting down and talking with each other, with an impartial third party, to discover what is happening within the family and what can be done to fix it.

I cannot imagine a family out there that does not want to be happy. But life happens. Things can become dysfunctional as family members come and go (planned or unexpectedly), structure and hierarchy change, illness strikes, conflict escalates, addiction is discovered, careers are earned and lost, and communication comes to a standstill. Through mutually agreed upon ground rules, therapy will be the place for each family member to share their experience without fear of retribution and to have the opportunity to be heard without interruption. Then, through a variety of strategies, we work together to reorganize the family's energies and move towards a positive outcome.

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.

Families come in all forms especially in our changing times. The stresses of life show up in our families lives. Families change over time. Dealing with young children is different than a family with teenagers or no children at all. We need to negotiate these changes in our families. At REACH Counseling we believe in the strength of families and helping families to communicate and connect at a deeper level. We specialize in exploring what intergenerational patterns are affecting your family, how you may be dealing with transitions and how you can make your family strong.