Family Counseling Services in Pennington, NJ.

Families often involve three or more individuals, each with their own emotions, understandings, relationships, and challenges. This can make the family dynamic complicated. Also, sometimes one or more family members have experienced personal circumstances that the whole family can have a hard time understanding. Family therapy can help improve family boundaries, clear up misunderstandings, and re-learn healthier communication methods to empower your family to move forward and meet future challenges more effectively.

In family counseling family members develop healthy ways of communicating and responding to one another to create and establish an atmosphere of trust and emotional safety. Family members learn to identify their own needs, increase sensitivity to the needs of others and interact in ways that build trust. Family counseling is conducted in an atmosphere of respect and dignity for all.

Family problems affect everyone in the family-from the oldest down to the youngest family member. Working with as few as two family members, I can help you and your family resolve conflict, emotional cut-offs, and negative communication patterns. Long term unresolved issues often create present day conflict and misunderstandings that affect everyone in the family. Therapy can help uncover and resolve those issues as well as work through the current family issues.

Family is the backbone of our society. So many things in our lives make having peace in our home very difficult. I believe that home needs to be our safe place. I work with families to help them forgive hurts, communicate about what is really going on and to love each other the way God intended us to. I create an environment that leads to greater understanding and a deeper love.

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.

Teen therapy can require a family component. While your teen is the client, their effort is impacted by the dynamics at home. Including parents, and sometimes even siblings, in the process is important. Family therapy sessions are opportunities to get on the same page for supporting your teen and communicating more effectively as a team. You will all have a safe space to share your perspectives and express your needs in a structured, nonjudgemental environment. As the therapist, I will facilitate the discussion to ensure everyone is respected and heard. You will all leave with a greater understanding of each other and the pertinent tools and techniques to support your loved one.

During Family Therapy we deal with: patterns of communication (the way people in the family talk to each other); anger (how that sabotages the family); correcting dysfunctional patters, and negotiation (how to work out things so that everybody feels O.K. about the solutions). During family counseling families learn how to deal with crisis as well conflict management techniques. Also included are effective parenting skills for both children as well as teenagers. Therapy needs to have practical strategies and to be as short term as possible.