Families include some of the following:

• traditional two-parent families
• single parent families
• blended, separated or divorced families
• single parents
• seniors and their families
• children caring for parents
• families with troubled children
• extended families
• grandparents raising children

Developmental stages of families, such as weddings, infertility, birth of children, loss of work or stress from work, illness, extended family issues, empty-nest, divorce or deaths affect healthy family functioning and become a part of the therapy.

Family counseling and support work is often short-term. The therapy is designed to help those families facing crises to work through their problems with professional intervention. The focus of the work is on helping relatively healthy families get through difficult times and strengthen relationships and communication. Problems and coping strategies are identified and goals are set that underline strengths and that lead to positive growth and development within the family.

As a professional, I help provide constructs and interventions that allow families to break maladaptive cycles, such as difficulty in communicating, blaming and/or conflict. In the process, individual and family strengths and sources of support are identified, and more effective coping methods are established.