Therapy

Therapy

Family Therapy

Update: We now accept Blue Cross Blue Shield (Non Network)

A primary focus for family therapy is to help families resolve conflict. The key to resolving is good communication. Often, people in conflict have a fight-or-flight or avoiding-or-attacking strategy. Neither of these strategies promotes good communication. Use of these strategies makes it difficult to achieve conflict resolution in the family unit.

To resolve conflict requires that all family members be willing to listen and be open to finding solutions that will work for everyone. In families, this is particularly difficult because children and parents may have different goals and may value different things. Regardless, most conflicts can be resolved.

This is a topic that can be discussed at great length. However, for the purposes of this article, listed below are a few thoughts to help you manage conflict:

State the Problem- the real problem. It may not be your teenager missing curfew that really upsets you. It may be that you feel disrespected and stressed when your child is not home on time.
Who is a part of the conflict? When possible, bring all the parties to the table to discuss the issues.
Examine the similarities and differences about the issue. This will begin to set the stage for resolution
Brainstorm then rank possible solutions
Get buy-in from all parties for the agreed upon solution
Evaluate the success of the solution. If the solution is not working, you may have to go back to the drawing board but at least the family is working as a team to solve their issues. Also, this approach lets your children know that you value their opinion and you are serious about having a good relationship.

These steps may seem difficult at first but they can lead to the successful resolution of your families’ problems. For more information on successfully handling conflict contact llmempowermentgroup.com.

Blended Families

Because divorce touches the lives of many family members today, efforts to understand the dynamics and impact of divorce have flourished. Most traditional studies of divorce, for example, have emphasized the difficulties and problems that face the divorcing families, especially the children in those families. As divorce rates have increased, remarriage rates and the number of people living in step families or blended families has increased as well. Even given the numbers of people living in blended families, many stereotypes persist. One example might be the perception of the ‘wicked stepmother’ and the poorly treated step children (Cinderella complex). In order for blended families to be successful they must have the following characteristics:

Realistic expectations of the new family
The ability to the mourn the loss of the original family unit
The remarried couple must have a strong relationship
New and satisfying rituals and traditions must be formed
The separate households must cooperate

Blended families can and often are very successful. For more information on this topic please contact llmempowermentgroup.com

References: Conflict Resolution by Allan Edward Barsky

Individual Therapy

Often when a person enters therapy they are feeling overwhelmed by the stressors of their life. This crisis or stressor presents an opportunity for changes which are beneficial to the person’s overall ability to cope effectively. During a period of crisis a person’s normal defenses are down and emotional distress is high. The person feels an urgency to decrease the level of emotional distress. Because they are motivated toward alleviating emotional distress they are open to new ways of thinking and behaving.

Some people have little awareness of the role that negative stress or too much stress plays in the complaints and physical ailments that they are reporting which are reactions to the pressures and circumstances in their lives. The body generally offers several opportunities for the person to intervene in some method to decrease distress. If ignored these signals often lead to emotional problems and physical ailments.
Change is stressful, even when it is beneficial. Change requires effort and conscious awareness. In preparing to engage someone in the process of change, it is important to understand how they normally interact with their environment. In individual counseling , a stress assessment is completed which includes a review of life events occurring in the last year, personality characteristics, and a review of significant historical life stressors which have not been resolved and/or have contributed to how the person currently copes. Life stressors include but are not limited to: divorce, chronic illness, sickness and death of a love one, major life transitions, difficulties at work, relationship issues, and chronic feelings of inadequacy and low self-worth.

The responses to stress are numerous, and so are the approaches for dealing with it. What works for one person many not work for another, therefore it is necessary to be prepared with number strategies for handling stress.

The mind plays a powerful role in the way we handle stress. A goal of individual counseling is to assist clients in understanding how to develop coping strategies and taking responsibility for their thoughts and behaviors. In order for individual counseling to be successful, the person must be open to the possibility of change and be willing to work towards developing the skills necessary for change to occur.