Family Therapy
Serving all of Colorado
Are Your Kids Suffering and You’re Unsure How to Help?
Does every interaction with your children seem to turn into an argument?
Are you unsure of how to help your kids navigate the complex world of school, peer pressure and social media?
Are you worried about the direction your kids are headed?
You may not be feeling as close to your children as you would like. You may be confused about how much freedom to give them as they move toward greater independence, and how to set boundaries with them. Perhaps you find yourself doing and saying things to your kids that you know you shouldn’t, but you just can’t seem to stop. When it comes to parenting styles, you may be clashing with your partner or co-parent, creating further confusion and turmoil for your children.
Modern Families Face An Unprecedented Amount of Stress
You undoubtedly started out with the intention of giving your children the very best. But life may have thrown you some curve balls that have made it next to impossible to be the parent you wanted to be. Your family may have been impacted by financial stress, health problems, addiction, or trauma. Not to mention the fact that modern life places an extreme amount of stress on families: Electronic devices, social media, drugs, and pornography are all impacting children and teens in ways that they never have before. Never have children been under so much pressure to grow up as quickly as they are expected to today.
With the pace of modern life, you may now find yourself relating to your children through a series of managerial tasks: Feeding them, driving them, and making sure they do their chores and homework. All of this activity may leave you feeling like you miss a basic sense of connection with your kids.
If any of this sounds familiar, you have come to the right place. As an experienced family therapists, we can help you and your family members build new relationships with one another based on safety and trust. Together, we can create a harmonious connection where all family members thrive.
Family Therapy Stops the Conflict and Restores Peace
We have the training and experience to assist even the most troubled families in finding wholeness. Gabrielle began her career over a decade ago ago as a Registered Play Therapist, working with traumatized children and their families. For the past decade, we have developed PCM (The Power Couple Method) which is a highly effective method of therapy for families as well as parents.
When psychologists researched what creates conflict in families, they found an important truth: Conflict arises when family members get stuck playing inflexible roles within the family. For instance, some family members may tend to express themselves a lot while others may tend to say too little.
Our approach to family counseling works by ensuring that all family members can express what is troubling them and find resolution to their concerns. In addition to meeting with your whole family, we will also work with your family in pairs, such mother/son, sister/brother, father/daughter, etc. As long as children are of sufficient age and maturity to stay focused while interacting with another member of the family, this method may be highly beneficial. Working in pairs allows us to improve the communication between each pair.
It allows your family to solve problems by doing the following:
- Creating a greater sense of closeness between family members
- Supporting each pair in openly sharing their thoughts and feelings
- Breaking up alliances within the family that may be causing conflict
- Allowing therapy sessions to occur even when not all of the family members can be present at any given session
What Happens in Family Therapy?
The emphasis of the sessions is on:
- Getting clear about exactly what is creating distress for your family and exactly what needs to be done about it
- Sharing thoughts and feelings with honesty
- Repairing emotional injuries that have occurred within the family
- Finding win-win solutions that work for all family members
As a parent, our sessions will teach you how to:
- Parent with ease and self-assurance
- Enjoy a playful, light-hearted relationship with your children
- Parent as a team with your partner or co-parent
- Connect deeply with your children
- Mentor your children through the challenging waters of growing up so they find meaning in their lives, realize their full potential, and create healthy relationships of their own.
Get Concrete Action Steps Right Away
Research shows that we form relationship blueprints with our parents when we are young. Whether we like it or not, these blueprints influence the way we parent when we become adults and start our own families. If these blueprints are based on a lack of emotional safety, they can create problems for us as parents. Family therapy helps parents uncover the relationship blueprints that are causing trouble so they can resolve them and create family relationships based on emotional security, warmth and connection.
We will work together to create a custom-tailored treatment plan for your family where each session has a goal-driven purpose. You’ll come away with concrete action steps that you can use right away at home to start improving your family dynamic immediately. We strive to provide a safe and compassionate space where all family members feel accepted and heard.
As parents and long-time couples and family therapists, we bring a wealth of personal and professional wisdom and experience to our work with families.
IF I HAD MY CHILD TO RAISE OVER AGAIN
If I had my child to raise over again: I’d build self-esteem first and the house later I’d finger paint more and point the finger less I would do less correcting and more connecting I’d take my eyes off my watch and watch with my eyes I would care to know less and know to care more I’d take more hikes and fly more kites I’d stop playing serious and seriously play I would run through more fields and gaze at more stars I’d do more hugging and less tugging I’d see the oak tree in the acorn more often I would be firm less often and affirm much more I’d model less about the love of power And more about the power of love.
Still Have Concerns About Family Counseling?
We are struggling as a family. Would it be better for each of us to get individual therapy or should we choose family therapy?
You may be unsure about the best way to go about solving your family’s problems. Although it’s true that individuals within the family may have difficulties that can affect the wellbeing of the family, studies show that family counseling not only helps families improve their overall functioning as a unit, but also helps the individuals within the family resolve whatever may be troubling them personally. The reason for this is simple: In the words of Harville Hendrix, “We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship.” When we improve the quality of our relationships, it allows us to relate to ourselves with greater compassion and self-awareness.
My kids think family therapy will be a waste of time. What should I tell them?
Depending on the age of the child, it can be helpful to communicate to them something like this: “I know we’ve all been struggling a lot as a family. Sometimes it can be helpful for families to talk with a therapist who can provide a safe place for everyone to share how they feel and get support. I believe this is going to help us feel happier again.”
Choosing a family therapist is an important decision. Unless they are very young, it’s best that all members of the family have a voice in the selection process. From the first moment you set foot in our office, we strive to make clients of every age feel welcome. Our style is direct, upbeat and playful. We believe it helps to have a sense of humor about the human condition!
Almost without exception, our experience is that kids seem to get the hang of therapy quickly and buy into the process.
My kids don’t talk. How will you get them to open up?
Family therapy is a great venue to support children in sharing their true thoughts and feelings. As a neutral third party, we provide an open, non-judgmental experience for your children where they can feel comfortable talking about whatever is troubling them.
More importantly, we help you master the skills you need to have meaningful conversations with your children in which they can rely on you to get distress relief, recharge their batteries, then go forth and conquer!
“Gabrielle is a kind, sensitive therapist who is in tune with the nuances of the human spirit and mind. She was an unyielding supportive force for our entire family during this transformative time of healing. We feel a deep gratitude to her that will carry on with our family for the rest of our lives together.”
Make Your Home a Great Place for You and Your Children
Healing and wholeness are possible for parents and children. The work you put into your family now will save you and your kids years of heartache down the road. Creating relationships based on respect, empathy, and trust will provide the model for your children’s future relationships when they become adults.
Get Started Today
Is your family too busy to get everyone to every session?
No problem.
Research shows it’s possible to effect positive change for your entire family by working with various parts of the whole. We’ll work with those family members who are available any given week, creating a big result for your whole family.
Please click on the “Schedule Now” button below to set up your initial 60-minute parent consultation so we can find out more about what your goals are for family therapy and how we can help.