Family Counselling Services in East Vancouver, BC.

Family therapy is important for those that are having a hard time connecting with someone in your family(partner, sibling, parent, child) and it can be quiet distressful. It also is important that if you are alone working yourself and others family members have similar therapeutic goals. My treatment plans involves understanding the belief system of the unity, and how people within that system communicate and relate to one another. We peel the onions together, and bring on healing to create unity and uniformity within the family system.

Despite the best intentions of ourselves and our family members, we are often tangled in patterns of invalidation, rejection, frustration and blame. It can feel so messy that we operate in a constant state of fear and a crippling sense of unworthiness. In 2008 I started my counselling career as a family therapist. A combination of individual and joint sessions will take place to allow the space for all voices to be respectfully heard, while helping to identify bigger ‘systems’ patterns that keep you stuck in pain and finger-pointing. I will help to smooth out communication, make room for wants and needs and to heal the old wounds holding you back from having a healthier relationship.

Imagine a family as a tree with branches, roots, trunk representing parts of the immediate and extended family. When working with families, all elements are considered. Usually there is a request for family therapy due to one of it's members in crisis, often a child. However, when an analysis of need is done it becomes apparent that more than one member of the family needs help in adjusting, growing and learning new behaviours. Clients contact me for a variety of reasons: to improve communications, solve family problems, support in special situations such as death, divorce, marriage, illness, child or adolescent issues.

Today family can mean different things to different people. Each family structure is challenged with their own set of difficulties and problems. Whether you are a blended family, single parent family due to divorce or loss, adoptive family, same sex parents, or traditional, we recognize family dynamics can be complicated. Together we will work to develop strong communication skills between each family member, while nurturing and solidifying the family unit. We will work to overcome conflict, heal the wounds of the past, build parenting skills and create a safe environment where all family members can be heard.

Like all relationships our relationships with our family members may require outside help to evolve alongside our own personal development. Our Adlerian understanding of families allow us to appreciate the experiences within a family system, like birth order and dynamics amongst various family members to better understand the work involved in improving the quality of those relationships. We strive to help clients feel warmly accepted and welcomed within their own families.

Parenting Struggles DO YOU WISH PARENTING COULD BE EASIER? Struggling as a parent can be overwhelming and exhausting. You may feel like you aren’t doing enough for your child or that you no longer have time for yourself. Whether you are a new parent adjusting to parenthood or have grown children, it’s common to feel emotionally exhausted and overwhelmed. Therapy offers a safe and supportive space to explore thoughts and feelings, identify how you want to grow, and learn to effectively cope with the stress of being a parent. With support, you can work towards building stronger relationships with your children and those around you so you can start living with more ease and control.

Most family therapists inadvertently create more chaos through their well-intentioned efforts to assist a family move through a change process. Why? Brains are inherently deregulated (all of us, may I add) and most talking and dialoguing misses brain-centric problems that need more intensive help. Many times the emotional trauma created by years of solving problems ineffectively can wreak havoc on the brain's parasympathetic nervous system, not ever giving the family a break from flight or fight thinking. Contact us for an innovative neuroscience solution to family dysfunction. Kevin@kevinflemingphd.com or 877-606-6161.