I would like to help you. Call 215-322-6781 for a no-obligation phone consultation to see if my services are right for you.
Over 30 years’ experience
When your family life is out of balance, your whole world may feel as though it’s falling apart. In family therapy, family members work collaboratively toward inventive solutions to tough problems.
Family therapy has proven to be of great benefit to people at times of major life stress. It is based on the belief that families are the single most powerful resource available to individuals attempting to cope successfully with major psychological or medical issues or even those difficulties caused by society. Research studies repeatedly demonstrate the effectiveness of marriage and family therapy in treating mental and emotional disorders. In my practice, many families are seen in their own homes, now usually using video conferencing-teletherapy, which I believe is the natural and most effective setting to provide family therapy.
Your family can be your greatest source of support, comfort, and love. But it can also be your greatest source of pain and grief. Family therapy can help ease strained relationships, teach new coping skills and improve how your family works together. Whether it’s you, your partner, a child or even a sibling or parent who’s in crisis, family therapy can help all of you communicate better and learn to get along.
Family therapy can help with such issues as:
- Marital problems
- Parenting skills
- Work stress, Anxiety
- Grief, loss and Trauma
- Divorce
- Teenage rebellion
- Depression or Bipolar Disorder
- Substance and Psychological Addictions, e.g., sex, eating, gambling, internet)
- Emotional abuse or violence
- Chronic health problems
- Body Dysmorphic Disorder
- Eating disorders, such as, anorexia or bulimia
Overcoming these challenges heals the individual and their relationships.
Family therapy can also be useful before problems begin. Some families seek therapy when they anticipate a major change in their lives. For example, a man and woman who both have children from previous marriages may go to family therapy when they marry to help all family members learn how to live together. If you’ve recently divorced, family counseling can help your children cope with lifestyle changes. Some couples bring their children into the counseling process as their marriage dissolves. The family therapist may need to provide additional child and adolescent (teen) counseling. Separation can be a very confusing time for young children. Many experience feelings of guilt, develop perfectionist traits, or act out when their parents’ divorce. It is important to confront these issues and begin the healing process.
Family counseling is based on the belief that the family is a unique social system with its own structure and patterns of communication. These patterns are determined by the parents’ beliefs and values, the personalities of all family members, and the influence of the extended family (grandparents, aunts, and uncles). Each family develops its own unique personality, which is powerful and affects all its members. Any change in one member of the family affects both the family structure and each member individually.
You may explore family roles, rules, and behavior patterns in order to spot issues that contribute to conflict. Family therapy can help you identify:
- individual and family goals and ways to achieve them.
- your family’s strengths, such as caring for one another.
- weaknesses, such as an inability to confide in one another and blaming other members.
Family therapy usually brings entire families together, but members may also see the therapist individually. Family therapy isn’t a substitute for other necessary treatments such as more intense psychotherapy for one of the members if needed.
Many people seek assistance because their children are acting out. A degree of rebellion is natural when kids reach their teenage years, but sometimes things escalate to an unacceptable level. Warning signs include a lack of appetite, an abusive or disrespectful tone, drastically falling grades, dropping old friends for those who provide a poor influence, skipping school, and insomnia. I can help your family work through this challenging time.
Family therapy is a highly active type of therapy, and family members are often given assignments. For example, parents may be asked to delegate more responsibilities to their children.
The number of sessions required varies, depending on the severity of the problems and the willingness of the members to participate in therapy. The family and the therapist set mutual goals and discuss the length of time expected to achieve the goals. People who participate in family therapy sessions learn more about themselves and about how their family functions.
I would like to help you strengthen your family and thrive. Call 215-322-6781 today for a no-obligation phone consultation.