Family Therapy: healing relationships
Family systems therapy sees the person in the context of their multiple relationships, and facilitates healthy interactions to promote healing, satisfying relationships, and greater personal freedom. I chose to become a family systems therapist because I see reality as relational. I believe that it is through our interactions with each other and our environment that we grow, heal, and become all we can be.
While family therapists work with families and couples, we also work with individuals. Our orientation, however, continues to be relational. It is through early, formative relationships that our human brains and personalities develop. And it is through relationship that we effect needed changes in our lives. The therapeutic relationship is a safe place to explore healthy change.
Family systems therapy sees the person in the context of their multiple relationships, and facilitates healthy interactions to promote healing, satisfying relationships, and greater personal freedom. I chose to become a family systems therapist because I see reality as relational. I believe that it is through our interactions with each other and our environment that we grow, heal, and become all we can be.
While family therapists work with families and couples, we also work with individuals. Our orientation, however, continues to be relational. It is through early, formative relationships that our human brains and personalities develop. And it is through relationship that we effect needed changes in our lives. The therapeutic relationship is a safe place to explore healthy change.
Couples CounselingI provide couples with communication strategies to help couples improve communication and effectively resolve conflicts. While resolving conflicts is important, I believe it is as important to help couples develop their relationship's capacity for joy, fun, and emotional connection. I draw on Family Systems Therapy, Emotion Focused Therapy, and communication strategies to help couples develop more satisfying relationships.
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Parent Counseling
Parenting is one of the world's most important and challenging jobs; yet few people have training or experience before taking on this wonderful and daunting task. Therapy can provide support and guidance, reduce stress, improve communication, and provide strategies for dealing with specific challenges (such as anger management and conflict resolution). Therapy can also help parents deal with special challenges such as divorce, blended family issues, trauma, serious illness, substance abuse, or a death in the family.
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Family Therapy Research
Research has found marriage and family therapy to be effective for numerous mental health issues,
including mood disorders (such as depression and anxiety), adult and
adolescent alcoholism and drug abuse, children's conduct disorders,
anorexia in young adult women, adult schizophrenia, childhood autism,
chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital conflict.
For more information, go to the American Association for Marriage and
Family Therapy website at: www.aamft.org
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