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Parenting Skills
No job is more challenging or more rewarding than parenthood. Today, parents face one of their greatest challenge – How to teach their children values and skills to empower them to become good and successful individuals that contribute to themselves and others. The changes in the social and economical and familial environment make parents confused and stressed. Parents need to learn new skills to adapt to these new changes and provide their children with the best foundation to become successful adults.
Power Struggle
Power struggles can cause deep rifts in a relationship. When neither party wants to "give in", superficial problems become the battleground for winning rather than understanding the deeper, more important issues at stake.
Family therapy can assist in defusing the power struggle problems in your relationship and build trust within family members. It can help you let go of a need to control and find ways to be supportive of one another and move beyond the power struggle.
Communication Issues
Communication can be more complicated than we expect. Because most of us have many years of experience communicating or attempting to, we may not be aware that communication issues may be the cause of relationship difficulties, both personal and professional. Learning how to understand others and adapt our communication style can pay off smoother, more productive, respectful and loving relationships.
Conflict Management
Every relationship has conflicts and disagreements. Unfortunately, too many families let their disagreements contaminate their relationships. Conflict can serve as a respectful expression of diversity, a constructive process of decision-making, an opportunity to create change, or motivation to solve problems.
The way a family deals with conflict is an important component of family happiness. The critical thing is that members of the family need to learn to manage their conflict in such a way that it doesn’t hurt the good things in the relationship. Conflict can be a way of getting to know each other better. Sharing respect, power, and decision-making leads to happier, more stable family.
Step-Parenting Issues
You may be in love in with your new partner, but now your children, have multiple parents. Naturally, you may find it difficult to discuss, communicate, and negotiate differences. The first step toward making a successful stepfamily is to understand the differences between stepfamilies and first-time families. Recognizing and accepting the differences can serve as the foundation to bridge the "gap" to create better and happier family.
New couples naturally wish for their new families to blend right away. Stepparents want their stepchildren to love them. Straining to make the impossible happen, however, creates constant failure. Step-couples need time and patient and endurance to allow members of the family adapt well and to function as a unit. Letting go of understandable, but unrealistic wishes frees you to meet the challenges.
Should we have a Baby?
Having a baby can be an exciting as well as daunting experience for both parents. Having a baby can be a challenging decision as it brings the relationship to another level of commitment. Family therapy gives you an opportunity to feel more confident about your decision and be clearer about what it takes.
Family therapy prepares the parents to understand their situation, needs and wants and help them prepare to handle their decisions and challenges for greater family satisfaction. Getting one’s own emotional needs met, having separate time for oneself, as well as time alone together, are just some of the stresses and strains. Family therapist can help sort these issues out - and provides a place for the family to explore thoughts and feelings about the issue in a safe and constructive environment.
Illness in the Family
Millions of Americans are limited in their daily functioning because of a chronic mental health or physical health condition. For the vast majority of these individuals, family is their first line of healthcare. It is the family, first and foremost, that cares for an ill loved one. These situations are difficult but manageable with an experienced and well-trained therapist who can help the family to find solutions to their problems.
One member's chronic illness influences the lives of everyone in the family. Roles and routines change. The demands of caregiving must be negotiated. Family members' emotions may be on a continuous roller-coaster ride. On the other hand, families may come together and grow closer. Their lives may take on new meaning. They may find rewards they had not expected on their journey through illness.
Mourning, Grief and Loss
After experiencing a loss whether after a death, divorce or the birth of child with special needs, people are told to move on with their lives or "just get over it already." Many people become angry with themselves for not moving on with their lives since they consider grief or bereavement as a time-limited process. But grief is a process that can last a long time and undergoes many changes and manifestations. Grieving is such a personal experience and takes many shapes and forms as well as various lengths of time. Thankfully, after most losses individuals can achieve happiness in their lives and learn to gain pleasure in daily activities.
It’s healing to share painful feelings of grief and loss with others, rather than remain isolated. Seek out family and friends and the church or synagogue as well as therapy. There is no need to feel alone.
Financial Issues
Financial/money issues are a common source of conflict between partners and often cause stress, anger, distress and unhappiness. Money means a great deal to many people, and money also means different thing to different people. Finding out the meaning you and your partner, having a mutual understanding and respect as well as reaching mutual agreement about financial matters can tremendously impact your relationship for the positive.
Emotional Reactivity
Emotional reactivity is a strong or sudden emotional response to an event (usually triggered by past events). If you feel there is a negative energy in your relationships and that you are fighting about the same issues repeatedly, then your relationship is driven by emotional reactivity.
In family therapy you can become aware of the real reason you have conflict in your relationships and the source of emotional reactivity. You can develop skills and practice techniques to break free from recurring conflicts moving from reactive mode to active mode allowing you to create an emotionally intelligent relationship that is free of fear and filled with care, trust and love.
Life Crises/Life Transition
Major life events, such as the death of a loved one, new-born child, a career setback, "mid-life" crisis, adolescents, etc. can cause a period of psychological stress, anxiety, anger or depression. A life crisis can have disastrous consequences on family relationships, particularly when the person who is going through a crisis refuses to accept it and deal with it. Family counselors can help the individuals as well as the families understand and address the crisis and can bring family members together in a supportive manner to enhance family relationships.
Thinking about Divorce?
More often than not people do not deeply think about the effects of divorce. They decide to get a divorce based on emotion rather than logic which can hinder their long term happiness. Still, there are those that make their decision about getting a divorce by taking into account the effects that divorce can have on everyone involved.
Some effects of divorce can be negative and some can be positive depending on the situation. Some of the critical factors in considering divorce are: financial considerations, spiritual and religious believes, change that children will need to go through if a divorce occurs as well as short and long term effect, "Fear" - Fear of loss…fear of the unknown…fear of lack of self confidence... fear of change…fear of a depreciation in emotional health…etc. Combating fear is a difficult thing to do but in conquering fear you will be one step further to your goal of emotional health. The changes and effect of divorce is complex. Therefore, if you are interested in making more calculated decision, educate yourself and possibly seek professional advice.
Supporting Elderly Parents
More than ever before, families are providing long-term care to older adults with limitations in the ability to perform tasks necessary for independent living. Families are the foundation of a stressed healthcare system and family caregivers are often expected to do what healthcare professionals once did, and do so without training.
Just at the point when your children are grown, you’ve made the last tuition payment, and you are looking forward to some free and enjoyable time for yourselves, your own parents begin declining and facing problems of aging. One parent may be ill or deceased and the other may feel emotionally overwhelmed and alone. Perhaps you need help in coping with the life stresses of the "sandwich generation." While many caregivers find much meaning in being able to help a loved one, caregiving is a challanging task.
Baby Challenges
Having a baby can be an exciting as well as daunting experience for both parents. Getting one’s own emotional needs met, having separate time for oneself, as well as time alone together, are just some of the stresses and strains.
Family therapy can prepares the parents to understand their situation, need and wants and help them prepare to handle their challenges for greater family satisfaction.
In-law Problems
In-laws problems are very common and often a source of friction between married couples. It is hard to be in the middle when tensions arise between your spouse and your parents. That kind of stress can cause pressure on your own relationship. Such situations can be improved in an unbiased, open-minded setting with a supportive and experienced therapist that can help.
Children Challenges
Children are a great source of happiness, yet they may also be source of challenge and anxiety. Many families find it difficult to discuss, communicate, and negotiate differences. The following is examples of issues that can be addressed in Family Therapy: Behavior problems in children at school and/or home, Anger Management, Depression, Anxiety, Academic difficulties, Sibling rivalry, Adolescent issues, Peer/Social pressure, ADHD/ADD, Gender Identity, Problematic eating patterns, Childhood Attachment.
Contact spiral2grow to start addressing your concerns and make changes in your situation. Your family will appreciate this! Call us at 917-692-3867 or email us for additional information to set up a session, so you can take the first step toward a better, more fulfilling life.
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