• Is your family struggling to communicate with one another?
  
• Have recent changes in the family environment caused major waves in the home?
  
• Is your family in need of healthier and more functional patterns?
  
• Are the family dynamics in your home becoming out of control?

The decision to seek Family Therapy can be a difficult one. Many people feel scared or worried about “airing the family’s dirty laundry.” Well, I applaud you for even considering sharing your family problems with a therapist. It takes bravery to come to the realization that your family needs help and to go the extra step of seeking that out is heroic. Family Therapy is a great tool for rebuilding communication and positive family dynamics.

My approach with Family Therapy is that EVERY PERSON COUNTS. As your family therapist, I will work with your family to make sure that all included individuals have an EQUAL VOICE and EQUAL RESPONSIBILITY in fixing this problem. Work will include as many individuals from your family as possible including group meetings, as well as some individual sessions for each client to have the ability to voice their feelings. I work hard to establish the therapy space as a SAFE PLACE for members to share openly and honestly without judgment or fear.

A more specific and goal-oriented component of Family Therapy, is Parent-Child Relational Therapy. This style of therapy is best used for a Parent and Child who are having a particularly difficult time seeing eye to eye and interacting with one another. This may be due to a traumatic event, separation, or other significant occurrence. Parent-Child Relational Therapy is facilitated only in a dyad (two individuals at every session) with the therapist acting as the “coach” and bridge of communication when needed. This approach is proven to build stronger relationships between parents and children who have lost their way.

Please contact me at alyson.cohen.lcsw@gmail.com for more information on this technique.

For more information on Family Therapy, please continue reading below.

Here are some common worries that may be experienced by families seeking help through family therapy:

“Having my whole family together in one place might create a huge explosion.”

Often times, family clients are worried about the hostile environment that might occur if all members are in the same room for a therapy session. This is something that can explored with the therapist and if needed, the family session can be broken down into working with particular members first and easing in more resistant members later. Above all, as your therapist, I will be in the room helping to manage tempers, create a safe place to share feelings, and promote healthy and respectful communication between all members. Family therapy can sometimes take a few sessions before it feels like a calm environment, but I promise you that it gets better with time. As your therapist, I will do my best to facilitate a therapy space that is welcoming, honest, and beneficial to all family members present in session.

“It is so difficult to get all of my family members to be available on the same day at the same time.” 

I offer flexible scheduling when it comes to family therapy, as I understand that it may be difficult to have all members present at once. This means that I may be able to offer week-to-week scheduling, Skype or Facetime sessions as needed, or possibly in-home services at an additional fee. These are all items that we can explore together as we discover whether or not working together would be the best option at this time. It is good to keep in mind that if you are seeking family therapy, there is an important reason why and getting all members to be on the same page about the treatment might mean sacrificing personal time to attend these appointments.

“I am worried about airing my family’s ‘dirty laundry’ and that other people may find things out about my family.”

You are not alone. Many families feel cautious about divulging family secrets and sharing conflicts that may be occurring in silence. Talking about these issues is the first step to helping fix the holes in communication and trust in your family. Family secrets can have devastating effects on all members. Sharing information within a family builds trust and teamwork within the family unit. As with all therapy, information shared in family therapy sessions are confidential. Your information will not be shared with anyone and if needed, a confidentiality contract can be created for all of the members of the family to maintain the same confidentiality that is being offered by your therapist. As your therapist, I take the responsibility of maintaining confidentiality as the highest priority. Trust in your therapist as well as your family members is needed for family therapy to be effective.

If you have any more questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at alyson.cohen.lcsw@gmail.com to see if working together with your family would be a good fit.