A Team Effort.
Family counseling is a form of psychotherapy that brings family members together to solve their shared concerns. It is based on the belief that families are the single most powerful resource available to individuals attempting to cope successfully with psychological or relational issues. In traditional forms of psychotherapy, each individual works separately to solve his or her own problems. In family therapy, family members work together to solve problems. By allowing families to harness and strengthen existing resources, and by helping family members work collaboratively toward inventive solutions to tough problems, family therapy has proven to be of great benefit.
Family is a powerful concept. The word family can be highly charged because while many of our problems can stem directly from our family relationships, just as often, the solution to our problems lies within our family relationships. Repeated patterns of interaction can be passed down from generation to generation and reinforced over the years, which can be the source of pain and conflict among family members and influencing all other relationships. Difficulties resulting from unresolved family of origin issues continue to cloud present family dynamics. Family therapy works to reorganize unfulfilling patterns of interaction and replace them with new perceptions and responses that allow family members to experiment with new ways of being together that result in closeness and mutual support.
At Leavitt Institute we know family life is not without sorrows and opposing influences. The separation and subsequent divorce of parents, blended families, infidelity, abuse, addiction, and emotional cutoff are just a few of the major stressors that can potentially harm family relationships.
Family counseling can provide a place of safety and exploration for families to heal from pain and address ways in which family life can be strengthened. Ultimately, we know family life can be the source of great joy. It is family that links together the generations. It is family that can provide us with a sense of unity and belonging as we live in and cope with our environment.
We hope you will consider Leavitt Institute as a viable option for family counseling.
