Family and Adolescent Therapy

Do you find yourself saying No, Don't, Stop and Quit all day? Does your adolescent seem to act in ways that are contrary to his own best interests? Or the family's? Is your child unable or unwilling to express his feelings? Rather than sending children and adolescents to therapy by themselves, Family therapy views the symptoms of children as a problem in the larger family. Through this lens, we attempt to understand how the child’s behaviors might make sense to the child in the context the whole family. What’s going on in the rest of the family that could be affecting the child’s behavior? Family therapy does not engage in blaming the parents or alleviating responsibility for the child’s actions. Instead, it enables the family to see the bigger picture which can create a stronger, more resilient, family. 

Family therapy works when family members recognize that the “problem” is not other family members. What needs to change is the broken patterns of communication and the often hidden emotions that do not get a voice. Behaviors like depression, substance abuse, skipping school, chronic illness, and food issues, arise as a response to strong emotions linked to isolation or fear.

Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists, are trained to help families cope with day-to-day stresses and family crises, juggling careers and family life while coping with the inevitable bumps in the road including facing past traumas, evolving marriage, and coping with changes that are mostly out of our control such as family illness or changing economic circumstances.