Looking to grow a stronger connection with your family while learning how to achieve greater & more productive communication?
Explore our different areas of expertise in family counseling.
Family Counseling
What is Family Therapy?
Family counseling creates a space and time to address issues affecting each family member's mental health. From significant life transitions to mental health concerns of individual members, it can help to work with an unbiased professional.
Discover our different areas of expertise below.
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The goal is to allow each family member to feel heard and increase the overall bond between you. It can be challenging to hear feedback about the way that you affect other members and to avoid becoming trapped in defensive stances. Although emotions may arise during family therapy, your decision to participate in family therapy will allow you to feel more connected in the long-term.
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The goal of family therapy is to create opportunities for better communication and a greater understanding of each family member’s role. Family members will learn how to voice concerns, listen to one another, and develop stronger connections.
Families will also benefit from having expert feedback about what is normal for each family life stage and gaining skills to work through conflict.
What Healing Does Your Family Need?
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General Family Counseling
There are many different dynamics and issues to work through in a family as you progress through different stages of life. Whether you’re welcoming the addition of a little one, or navigating the loss of another, we’re here to work with your family as a unit to discover how you can best work together and support each other.
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Young Adult
Learning how to transition from a young adult to full adulthood can be a deeply intrinsic process with many challenges. Work with one of our supportive counselors to navigate the pressure of adult life, face new relationship dynamics and the expectations of your parents, and learn the life skills you need to accomplish your goals.
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Foster & Adoptive Families
We understand how important it is to engage all family members to improve bonding while celebrating each child’s origin and cultural background. Whether there are obstacles with guardianship, adoptive parents, trauma, loss, or attachment, our therapists are equipped to walk with your family through each stage of life.
Still Not Sure IF Therapy is Right For You?
Each families’ experience and what they gain from therapy may look different. Here are some of the most common ways families benefit from counseling.
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As a family, attention to the mental health of each individual is critical. When one member has mental health concerns, it can affect the rest of the family members. Whether it is a parent or a child with individual concerns, it is within the family system that lasting healing is possible. Working with a professional will allow you to open up honestly and create space for compromise and excellent communication with your family.
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As a family, there are many obstacles you'll encounter together, such as divorce, financial troubles, death, or a loved one's illness. When working with a family therapist, the goal is to relieve stress and navigate these situations to find a healthy resolution. Conflicts arise in every family. It is inevitable, so let's work together to help your family compromise and communicate the best you can no matter what you face.
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As the head of the household, you are responsible for the guidelines set for your family. How strict should you be? Where should you offer leniency? What’s ‘normal’? What if you and your partner disagree on parenting matters?
While you may have good intentions, sometimes actions we think are beneficial can negatively impact our children. Having an outside perspective about your family’s rules and expectations can help create a better functioning household.
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Family therapy can be a safe space where your family can learn how to express themselves and share their concerns without fearing the repercussions of opening up. Family members will learn to support one another, and how to phrase their concerns without offending others or getting stuck in age-old arguments.
A family that communicates well can handle the stresses that they face with more ease and have more effective daily interactions.
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Those who have dependency in their family know that the wounds it causes are vast and deep. It can be heartbreaking to watch someone you love make destructive choices, and difficult to understand the mindset that allows them to do so.
Recovery is possible, although for true healing to take place, family therapy is essential. Setting aside this time can help repair the damage of past dependency and focus on recovering as a family. You and your loved ones can heal and discover more meaningful relationships.
Frequently asked questions
Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the family counseling experience.
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Family therapy can be reminiscent of group or couple's therapy in that multiple viewpoints will be addressed by your therapist. Your therapist will work with your family to navigate how to handle each family member's concerns. Typically, family counseling can run longer than a typical session to ensure each family member is given time to participate.
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When assessing whether it is the right time to move forward with family therapy, keep these common signs on your radar:
Disagreeing and arguing more than normal
Difficulty setting and maintaining boundaries
Family members with extreme or uncontrollable emotions
Life transitions like a move, job change, school switch, etc.
Divorce or temporary separation
Remarriage, adoption, or fostering where additional family members are joining the family
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Many families struggle to get all family members committed to participating and actively attending family counseling. You are not alone. As a parent, you may need to set the expectation that family therapy is non-negotiable.
Start when it's right to start, even if not all family members are on board. You can work with your therapist more one-on-one till your family members open up to the idea. Set a great example.
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Privacy is taken very seriously at Counseling Col:lab, and we maintain guidelines with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, HIPAA, and the ethical policies of the American Counseling Association, ACA. However, there are limitations to this and some specific challenges when navigating multiple roles with teens and their legal guardians.
If there is knowledge of child or elder abuse or you express the desire to bring life-threatening harm to yourself or others, as mandatory reporters, counselors must take action. In addition, our therapists recognize the need to tread carefully about the confidentiality of minors. If you have concerns about confidentiality, please talk more in depth with your therapist about this.
