FAMILY THERAPY CAN HELP WITH
Addressing family arguments and aiding in growth and recovery can be difficult and challenging. Often family patterns of relating to each other, styles of communication, and individual roles within the family have been well established and are deeply entrenched. Counsellors at the Centre for Cognitive & Behavioural Change help facilitate the change process for families.
First, the counsellors work with the family to determine what has caused the current crisis, what historical or external issues contribute to the current conflict, how each member contributes to the family functioning, what family members are prepared to do to reach an acceptable resolution, and what new interpersonal skills are necessary to create safety and change for each member. Secondly, the counsellor facilitates conflict resolution in a manner where the family learns to communicate effectively, ensuring there are not any misunderstandings or assumptions that develop and that each person has the chance to be heard and voice their feelings. Historical issues are addressed and resolved and the family becomes a place of healing and hope; intimacy is restored.
Family therapy can help with a variety of issues ranging from what to do when your toddler throws a temper tantrum in the grocery store to learning how to work cooperatively with your ex partner and peacefully blend stepfamilies. Some additional topics the counsellors at the Centre for Cognitive & Behavioural Change are experienced in working with:
- How to care for an aging parent and what is expected from each member of the family
- How to maintain a strong family unit when dealing with a disruptive teen
- Minimize conflict and gain understanding about underlying causes of disagreements when parents have different parenting styles
- How and when to talk with your children about alcohol and drugs
- Reduce household chaos in the mornings while getting ready for school & work and in the evenings around the dinner table
- How to deal with sibling rivalry, when is it too much, what does it mean
- How to create more structure at home when members are not cooperative
- Learn how to nurture yourself & your family and identify how your family can support you
- To introduce firm and kind, unconditional love and the value of more action and less talk
- Introduce concepts of natural and logical consequences and how parents can effectively use them
- Create a cooperative family and what to do when there is a lack of cooperation
- Learn the difference between punishment and discipline
- Explore developmental and learned aspects of aggression and actions to correct this behaviour
- Learn how to recognize and disengage from power struggles and what to do to lessen them in the future
- How to effectively communicate with your teen, set clear boundaries, understand how to support and encourage them
- Teach and demonstrate responsibility, goal setting and learn ways to encourage and motivate your children
- Reach agreements on each members role in the family and which chores will be their responsibility
- Learn how to avoid confrontation while managing and addressing anger and frustration
- Create an atmosphere where all members respect self and others
- Become a place of healing and hope when issues of racism, sexism, or some other prejudice wound a family member’s self-esteem
- Find a path of healing when drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex addictions, or affairs threaten to tear apart the fabric of the family relationships
- Create safety and security for all members when severe depression, mental illness, physical illness, or accidents impede the functioning of the family
- Maintain close healthy connections when external forces work to destroy them