Are You in Conflict with Family Members?

In Repeating Cycles of Miscommunication?

Have the Bonds Been Broken?

Family members sometimes have divisive issues whereby achieving common ground seems impossible. Tensions flare and misunderstandings leave you feeling rejected and hurt. Maybe the bonds have been understandably frayed or severed as dysfunction reached an intolerable pain point.

To be clear, toxic relationships can take various forms and are reckless and ill-advised. These should be avoided for your mental health and well-being. 

It is important to note, however, that not all conflict and miscommunication is attributable to toxicity. It is remarkably overlooked that family members may simply have different temperaments, personalities, beliefs, values and lived experiences. It is as if we assume or expect, by virtue of the family relationship itself, that closeness is assured and affinity is a given.

A lack of affinity is only a problem when we as individual family members fail to recognize or acknowledge one another's differences and our own autonomy. Once we've done that, we can create the space to accept one another with more tolerance and less judgment, thereby redefining the family relationship in a way that preserves it. Sometimes differences need a little breathing room.

Adult Family Therapy Seeks to Create a Space for Mutual Understanding of Differences and a Letting go of Unquestioned Expectations of a Need for Similarity

I provide counseling to help you with...

• Enhancing communication that can foster dialogue 
• Exploring one another's perspectives in trying to perceive them as integral to each family member 
• Exploring felt emotions 
• Seeking to understand our own and other's autonomy 
• Healing from negative experiences past or present 
• Seeking mutually acceptable solutions despite differences

I look forward to meeting you!

• This counseling is for adult family members only.

• Narcissism and grandiosity in family members may be irreconcilable.

• Family members experiencing violence or abuse of any kind are encouraged to seek safety by calling (800) 799-7233 (The National Domestic Violence Hotline). 

• Family members experiencing substance abuse are advised to seek help by calling (866) 210-1303, The CA Addiction Hotline, prior to engaging in family therapy.