Relationships are present in every facet of our lives, and those closest to us—our families and significant others—can often be a source of worry and conflict.
Family is the foundation from which we all come. No family is perfect, however, and many need help in improving communication and increasing awareness of problematic behaviors. Family therapy aims to create an opportunity for all family members to learn more positive, healthy ways of interacting.
Family therapy generally includes all members of the family, and can also focus on different “groupings” as needed. With children and adolescent, especially, family therapy is an important addition to their individual therapy.
Couples’ therapy is a place to work on the variety of issues that may arise within the relationship, from general dissatisfaction to parenting differences to discussions of divorce or separation. The aim in couples’ therapy is to help improve communication and listening skills. It’s focus is on helping couples validate one another, even if not always in agreement, leading to the use of healthier strategies to solving conflict.
In cases where separation and/or divorce may or have occurred, couples’ therapy can help with mediation and ways to navigate the difficult changes, especially when children are involved.