Family Counselling Services in Enniskillen, ON.

My family therapy approach involves seeing the whole family initially to understand each person's unique perspective, provide safety for each person to express themselves and to give each person the opportunity to determine their comfort level with me as therapist. I will then work with parts of the family (eg, siblings, parents, dyads such as Mother/Child, Father/Child, Sib/Sib) to support recognition of the unique cycle each group/dyad experiences as problematic in having the closeness and safety they desire within the family. I use Emotion Focused Family Therapy which is based on attachment research and which acknowledges our need to be known and loved by family members.

When one family member is depressed, stressed, angry, or otherwise not at their best, it deeply affects the rest of the family. Sometimes individual therapy is the correct path, but often, addressing relationship dynamics within the family system is the quickest, most direct way of dealing with the issue. I work with all ages and all combinations of family members.

Gestalt therapy is a systems‐oriented, immediate‐experience‐oriented, and affect‐oriented therapy that is highly effective for families. Unlike other therapies, gestalt regards the client system's emergent processes as the central focus, and it emphasizes that growth occurs as the family and its members are helped to greater self‐awareness and responsibility for their own functioning. Dynamic forces within your family may need some the maintenance. How can a sense of peace and equilibrium be brought back into your home? I am not afraid to work with intense emotional outbreaks. I can help support family unity with strength and care! Develop better ways of communicating with each other!

Families are very complex systems, we all know that. We love each other but that love may not be all you need to understand the needs and behaviors we have in order to make the most of the relationship. Having a neutral, caring and educated professional to support you and guide you might be necessary in some cases when you depleted your resources and you feel like you are going around in circles. If this resonates with your situation do not hesitate to contact me, you can be sure to find a safe and not judgmental space to work through the family challenges.

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.

I view the family as a system. Each individual in the family has a part in how well the system functions. Sometimes the components of the system are imbalanced so that some are over-functioning, and some may be underfunctioning. I work with families to tweak and adjust the system to help it to run more smoothly such as the parents relationship, parent-child and sibling relationships, roles within the family, parenting and communication styles, individual/couple/family needs. Sometimes factors such as addictions and mental health also need to be addressed. Families learn healthy new ways to function and are happier post therapy.

Our relationships with our family are some of the most complex relationships of our lives. Being able to communicate our needs and feelings with our loved ones is crucial to our well-being and is an essential part of a successful parent/child relationship. Over time, families co-create a language and ways of interacting and being. However, as we enter times of stress and change, and our children grow, we start to develop independent languages that cause us to feel unheard, and invalidated. Sessions will allow you to be intentional about sharing with each other and provide a safe place to open up, repair hurts, and relearn each other's language.

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.

Research shows when one family member is struggling, all the members of the family are affected in some way. Giving each person in the family a safe place to voice their concerns can help families improve communication and resolve conflict. Family therapy addresses the behaviors of individuals as well as the dynamic between family members. • It can provide vital communication skills. • Help family members develop healthy boundaries. • Promote problem-solving • Build empathy and understanding

Families undergo constant change as each member strives to learn, grow and develop individually and in relation to others. Stress and challenges are a normal part of family development and, at times, these can become "too much" to handle alone. When arguments, disagreements, confusion and conflict arise it can be quite helpful to draw upon an experienced family systems specialist. Assessing and prioritizing concerns and developing a game plan for improving communication, relationships and overall functioning is available. Teamwork require good coaches (parents/caregivers) and good coaches benefit from training. Problem-solving, mediation and stress management coaching improves family.

In working with families, we aim to explore the power dynamics that exist between individual members and the ways in which these dynamics can work to maintain a particular pattern that is not of interest to everyone in the family. We look at the ways these patterns can prevent "success", or the achievement of what it is the family truly wants and values. In this way, we adopt a method of systemic or relational thinking; we hope to understand patterns rather than making any one person in the family the "problem". As such, we understand problems as a system of unsatisfying responses. Note: When working with families, there are times when it is useful to meet with members individually.

Families are diverse and can be difficult to navigate alone. Family counselling may include adjustment to family structure changes, navigation of developmental transitions or a new diagnosis, management of conflict among family members, and general mental health support for family members within the household. This would be accomplished by providing you and your family members a space to constructively discuss issues with the assistance of learned communication tools.