Families

Family relationships are always important and nearly always complicated. This is particularly true for children, whose emotional, physical and psychological development is so dependent on the nurturance, support and structure provided by their families.  And divorced and blended families typically add another major challenge to the family relationship dynamics.

The impetus for family therapy is often parent-child conflict. It could be about the divorce. It could be a mental health or behavioral issue afflicting one family member that impacts the whole unit. It could be about failure to launch, the managing of a chronic illness or the challenges of a disabled family member.  It could also be about the process of adjusting to developmental shifts and the challenges to the parents in their efforts to adapt to these changes. It could also be about processing loss.

Families are not static. They constantly evolve as needs, expectations and boundaries shift. And past experiences, future hopes, differences in innate temperament and personality traits, as well as external stressors, all play a role in how family members cope with those changes.

At AiC we have therapists who specialize in family therapy. They offer an objective, supportive and nonjudgmental space for family members to speak openly, while helping to foster better self-understanding as well as understanding of each other. In family therapy, the overarching goals are to reduce conflict, learn how to better manage the inevitable conflicts, and enjoy more satisfying and fulfilling relationships.