Family Counseling Services in Castaic, CA.

In Family Counseling with me, clients engage in a collaborative journey focused on enhancing relationships and resolving conflicts within the family unit. I provide a supportive environment where each family member has the opportunity to express themselves and be understood. By addressing interpersonal dynamics and communication challenges, we work together to develop practical strategies for overcoming obstacles and improving family cohesion. Through structured sessions and targeted interventions, families learn to navigate disagreements effectively, strengthen connections, and foster a more supportive and harmonious home environment.

I use a family systems approach in my therapy, so having family members in the room, in my opinion, is the most efficient route towards healing and growth in individuals. I encourage clients to address relationships that are causing distress in their lives and work towards healthy differentiation of self. This can be done in individual therapy as well, but is more effective when all members of the relationship are present.

Let me guess. One partner feels alone and like they don't matter and the other feels they are always being criticized and can't get anything right. The more one asks for the other to show up, the more the partner disappears physically and emotionally. You both bicker and fight and the idea of sitting and just hanging out seems elusive, if not impossible. Something like this? Often we crave connection but are blocked by the pain and the history that gets in the way. Small fights about little things become battles that highlight our struggle to have our basic relational needs met. I can help you get under the bickering to the parts crying out for connection- to an enriching relationship.

In family therapy, I aim to reduce distress and conflict by improving the systems of interactions between family members. Sometimes all family members are present, but that is not always possible or necessary. By adjusting the viewpoint of problems as patterns of behaviors that need adjusting, and improving communication skills, families can strengthen and resolve conflict in a more peaceful way.

We need our families. If your family is in danger of disconnecting or falling apart, let's work together to lean toward each other instead of away. No one family member is ever the cause of disfunction. We each must learn our responsibility in the mix. My approach to healing families is to help each member understand how they absorb stress, and explain it to the group in a way that will be heard. Our family is our home base. Let's keep it that way by learning empathy for each other's struggles.

When one person in the family is plagued by a problem, it disrupts the whole system. Feeling disruptions in the family is difficult and may be the reason family therapy is the right choice for you. I believe that by providing family therapy, the family can learn to live more cohesively and talk to one another, not at each other. A good family therapist is one to help put the pieces back together after things have fallen apart. I listen to family members individually and as a whole to hear what the problem is from their perspective and treat it accordingly. Getting family therapy may be the best decision of your lives. Call for a free, confidential consultation today.

Families engaging in therapy with me will find a compassionate and strong leader who understands the profound stress that family conflicts and perpetual problems can create. My approach is centered on guiding families through their tensions and difficulties, providing a structured and supportive environment where each member feels heard and valued. By focusing on your family's unique dynamics and challenges, I facilitate open communication and collaboration, leading to practical and lasting solutions. Clients will leave with a renewed sense of connection and the tools to foster a more harmonious family life, turning seemingly insurmountable problems into opportunities for growth.

I have found in my many years of experience that many emotional issues and dysfunctional patterns occur in the context of the family system. In family therapy, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. This means that the family system can influence the emotional well being of its members. In our family therapy sessions, we understand the presenting issues through the lens of the family. For example, what are the relationships and connections that provide the foundation for a particular behavior? What is the structure of the family and how does it support the members' behavior? Many behavior patterns and issues respond well by working with the family

My clinical approach to Family Therapy begins with an evaluation to determine and understand the issues within the family context. It is the goal of therapy to provide a safe environment for family members to express their concerns about the family dynamic. It is at the beginning of therapy that treatment goals are determined. Emotional needs for each family member will be explored. Treatment consists of teaching conflict resolution and communication skills to help family members be able to address conflict more productively and with less distress. My clinical approach consists of instilling insight for families about the relational dynamic within the family.

Family life can be greatly rewarding and extremely challenging. Whether seeking therapy for issues arising from starting a family, preparing to launch children into adulthood or any stage in between, the difficulties cause concern and deserve attention. At all ages, the creation of a family structure with consistent boundaries and expectations can contribute to healthy lives, both as individuals and as a group. Common Areas of Focus: •Communication patterns •Rules and discipline •Regulating emotions and behavior •Effects of separation, divorce, blending families •Drugs, Alcohol, Sexual Activity •Freedom vs. Limits •School performance •Sibling/peer relations •Responsibilities and Goals

Family therapy is helpful in understanding your family unit. Understanding each member of the family as having roll, responsibility and expectation is the beginning of the process of understanding what works and does not work within your family unit. Working with the family from this starting point, will hopefully open the door to improved communication among each family member.

When working with children and youth, the therapist cannot ignore the family system in which the child lives. I work with parents in multiple ways to help support youth in treatment, which may include separate parent sessions, co-parenting sessions, systemic family therapy, or Filial Therapy, a play therapy practice that coaches and guides parents in special play sessions with their child to decrease unwanted behaviors, improve relationships and communication, increase the child's emotional vocabulary, and increase the child's self-esteem.

Families are complicated machines. There are many parts, all of which must work in unison and balance with one another. When this balance is disrupted because one or more family members are having an issue or a hard time, the entire machine (family) stops functioning optimally. Like any machine would, your family may need a "tune up" at that time. You must relearn how to function at your best.

ARE YOUR FAMILY MEMBERS IN CONFLICTS OR CRISIS? Counseling helps! I take a unique and effective approach to family therapy- addressing the needs and clarifying the roles of every individual in the system so that everyone knows where they are, where the family is and take the steps they need to a healthier and happier family. Call for a free telephone consult.

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.