Has your family undergone a recent change like a move, death, or divorce? Do you feel like you just aren’t able to communicate with your child anymore? Maybe you just feel disconnected and don’t know what to do. Family therapy can be a great way to build better relationships with your child or between siblings.
Family Therapy
THERAPY DETAILS
Family therapy allows your family to work together to solve problems and find solutions. Who knows what life is like better at home than everyone together! Family therapy can be incorporated along with individual therapy or as a service alone.
COMMON CONCERNS
Family therapy is great for kids with anxiety to learn to cope with their fears in a safe place. It can be hard to know what to do when your child has anxiety and family therapy can teach strategies you can use as a parent to help your child. I often use mindfulness strategies to teach new coping skills that they can use anywhere they go.
Unwanted behaviors is the most common reason families seek family therapy. When no one is getting along it seems like a good idea to figure it out together. Often there is something your child is trying to communicate with their behavior. I will partner with you to find out what that might be. This is very difficult to do when you are in the middle of the unwanted behaviors.
Examples can be physical or verbal aggression, excessive skin picking or hair pulling, cutting, poor peer relationships, oppositional behavior, or anything you are unable to manage on your own.
Has your child changed schools recently? Moved into a new house? Are you going though a divorce or separation? Sometimes even positive changes have unforeseen consequences for our families. Family therapy can be a great way to talk about the changes and give you the tools to feel confident going forward.
Therapy for kids on the Autism Spectrum can be challenging. I am certified in AutPlay which is a type of play therapy for kids on the Autism Spectrum. I will complete an evaluation of your child’s particular needs to see if play therapy can be a good fit. Typically this is not for kids with only an Autism diagnosis. Instead this is more for kids who have other behavioral or emotional needs. Family therapy becomes part of the process to work on skills at home and not just in the session.
THERAPY PROCESS
Family therapy starts with an assessment process where I will sit down with you and your child to get a better understanding of what the concerns are and what else might be happening in the family. The more information provided during this process the better I will understand what I can do to help. We can talk about whether family therapy is a good fit for your concerns.
Treatment varies depending on the concerns, but I will talk with you at intake about where I think family therapy can be beneficial to your family. We may also talk about other options if that will be the best fit. Families are always changing and it is common for the goals of therapy to change throughout the process.
Family therapy sessions look very different depending on the age of different family members and who is able to participate. Sometimes it will be all family members or we may decide to do different combinations to work on different things. Sessions typically start at once per week and will decrease when appropriate.
If no appointments are available, or you have additional questions, please feel free to email me at kara@nurturefamilytherapy.com.