Family Counseling Services in Scaggsville, MD.

We are all relational beings, living within interactive, emotional systems. How we relate to our most significant others (spouse, children, siblings, etc.) can sometimes lapse into unpleasant scripts and powerful undercurrents of action-reaction, negative group-think, and ineffective authority roles. Restoring a sense of effective functioning, wellness and harmony (shalom) within family relationships can be aided by learning and practicing new ways to empathize, communicate, and collaborate with each other. Under certain conditions, families can even benefit from video sessions or teletherapy (if more convenient and less stressful than gathering everyone at a therapist's office!)

In family therapy I meet with any number of family members together as a way to build understanding between family members and resolve conflicts that may exist. This tends to be a very active and dynamic interaction where each member is given the opportunity to express their views and concerns in a neutral environment. I, in turn provide feedback and help to clarify the issues.

Through family counseling, you can understand family dynamics that have impacted all of your relationships. Our families-of-origin are the training ground for our life skills. Communication skills are one example and are learned in our families; they can be relearned in therapy. Through various therapeutic approaches and techniques, I will assist you in creating a more loving and harmonious family system.

Christian counseling can benefit marriages, individuals struggling with personal issues, and families experiencing difficulties. Christian counseling is for those who want to honor God in their personal life, marriage, and family by aligning with God's truths and becoming fully reliant on God. God is our ultimate healer, and Christian counseling is one avenue that God has provided to those who need healing and life change.

I would say that about 25% of my coaching is in the family scope. This area sometimes takes the most time. It has so many fascist. I ask each party for the one "big" problem and we start at that point. Resolving one step at a time. In any area of the home, there is commonly layers of bad thinking that brings things people to the edge. In the past I did testing, but I have found by the 38 years of history that you and I must get in the middle of the "stuff". Testing can really be a cop-out for the lack of experience in a field.

Whether it is mother/daughter conflict, father/son, struggles, or the whole family, the dynamics are often wrought with underlying emotions that need to be addressed. Rather than therapy for the child alone, often having the entire family meet takes the role of "identified patient" off anyone, and emotional knots can begin to loosen and be untied. I use role play, in addition to talk therapy, to engender greater empathy. When there are unhealthy "triangles," new structures are put in place so that clear communication can flow between members.

If your family is experiencing conflict and misunderstanding, I can help. By sitting down together, learning to listen to one another and allowing me to help you sort out your differences, you can begin to relate to one another in a new way. My goal is to provide a calm and safe environment where each family member expresses his or her point of view and conflicts are resolved through understanding and consensus.

Life can present you with difficult situations which are hard to process and move past. These challenges are not on your timeline and affect everything. Having worked in many healthcare settings, I am familiar navigating life-changing events and grief. I understand the territory of encountering loss, coping with trauma, the complexity of the medical system and living with illness. These issues can have ripple effects on your relationships, sense of self and perceptions of the world. I know how complex things can get, and I will support you during this process.

As a new mom myself, I know how challenging the adjustment to parenthood can be. No matter the age of your children, family therapy is a helpful way for each member to express their concerns and learn to work together toward common goals. Parents will leave feeling more united as a team, and children/teens will leave feeling understood and loved. Family therapy is also beneficial for siblings and extended relatives.

Family therapy can bring momentous relief to the daily battles that leave parents and children worn down and over-reactive. Finding the right family therapist makes all the difference and it is important to find someone with experience. Our family therapists are glad to offer a free consultation to you to speak about your concerns. Your experience with a family counselor will be a tremendous benefit.

Parents and teenagers must navigate a difficult process as the teenager begins to separate from the parents and form his or her separate identity. I work with both parents and teenagers to help in this process in terms of developing strategies for communication, conflict resolution and ways to begin connecting more effectively. I help both the teenager and the parent find ways to better understand and to develop greater tolerance for one another. More than any other developmental stage, the teenage years necessitate that parents alter their typical ways of parenting, become more flexible, more patient, more emotionally attentive.

As you learn more about yourselves as a family, you will also begin to better understand yourselves as individuals and a collective unit. You can identify your own needs and learn how to express them more honestly and respectfully. You can become a stronger and happier family, while increasing understanding and love for your family. Although you may be feeling hopeless right now, with guided support and a willingness to change, itis possible to re-build your family dynamics and have it be even better than it was before.

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.