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Family and Relationship Conflicts
Families are complex systems. When one person in the family is having trouble, all the other members are affected. For example, when one member of the family is chronically ill, depressed or suffering from a loss, it disrupts the flow of interactions among the family members. In relationships, if one partner is suffering due to depression, job loss or caring for an elderly parent, both partners suffer.
Families
As a Marriage and Family Therapist, I help families identify and resolve the issues that are keeping them from experiencing a satisfying family life. I can help family members identify their particular communication styles and how small positive changes can produce better results. When family members are in pain, their language is often filled with negative, destructive language such as: "You never...", "You should...", "You make me...", and so on. I coach family members to focus on what they want in the relationship, and how to say what they want, rather than what they don't want.
Dan Baker, Ph.D, author of What Happy People Know, writes, "We don't describe the world we see — we see the world we describe. Language, as the single most fundamental force of the human intellect, has the power to alter perception."
Couples
A primary relationship between two people can be stressful. Each partner brings with him or her a family history different from the other, different personalities, different needs, different communication styles, and different expectations. Both partners must find their own voices — a voice that reflects their values and passions — and to use that voice to help them to receive and contribute as much as possible in the relationship. I coach couples how to communicate openly and honestly.
If you or someone in your family is experiencing any of the following that may be a cause of family or relationship conflict, I invite you to contact me.
- Anxiety
- Career transitions
- Child/adolescent behaviors
- Chronic illness or other health issues
- Death of a family member
- Depression
- Divorce
- Elderly parents
- Financial difficulties
- Job stress
- Post-partum depression
- Parenting stress
- Retirement
- Separation
- Substance abuse
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