Family Therapy

Having healthy interpersonal relationships, including with our families both biological and chosen, are crucial to our identity development and overall well-being, and family therapy can be helpful for many family systems, dynamics, and situations. Exploring the underlying factors that may be causing ruptures in relationships within a family can be a powerful way to strengthen familial relationships and our own personal well-being.

Similar to the reason that many individuals seek out therapy, it can be useful to have a neutral third party to help process, understand, and reframe struggles and dynamics. Family therapy is a safe place for family systems to do just that, and family therapists can help guide the process of healing within a family and introduce tools for more effective communication. Family therapy can address things like: adapting to changing family structure, processing past family trauma, introducing skills for communication and effective functioning within a family system, and more. Family therapy is sometimes shorter term than individual or couples therapy.

Our therapists who provide family therapy services: Tana, Megan, Maggie, Ashley and Bridgett.

Following is a list of reasons families often take part in family therapy:

  • Aging – the effects on family
  • The effects of addiction on the family
  • Anger management/Conflict resolution
  • Blended and stepfamily challenges
  • Caregiving issues
  • Co-parenting, single parenting and visitation
  • Cultural and multicultural issues
  • Divorce
  • Families of the chronically mentally ill
  • Family challenges with children with developmental variations or physical limitations
  • Families with children and adolescents/teens and all of the complexities involved in parenting
  • Job loss or retirement
  • Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, asexual, pansexual, and more (LGBTQIA+) concerns
  • Life stage transitions – birth of a child, separation, divorce or remarriage
  • Loss & grief
  • Parent-child relationships throughout the life course
  • Parenting for individuals with past trauma
  • Single parent/teen conflict
  • Stress from illness, disability, or death

Though not exhaustive, this list includes many of the reasons families are often seen together in therapy. Based on your family’s current circumstances, a unique treatment plan will be created to fit your needs. The length of family therapy will vary from family to family.

Get more information

If you are interested in scheduling a family therapy session at Sentier Psychotherapy, or to inquire about therapist availability, please email Ellie, our Client Care Coordinator:  [email protected]