Are You Struggling To Connect With Your Child And As A Family?

  • Has your teen become so withdrawn or irritable that you feel like you’ve lost your child?
  • Does your teen seem unmotivated, spending hours playing videogames alone, watching TV or browsing the web?
  • Are you worried about your teen’s poor grades or drug or alcohol abuse?
  • Do you constantly fight with your partner about parenting and discipline?
  • Do you long to provide your teen and family with the best possible future, but fear you may not have the parenting tools to do so?

If you’re a struggling parent who feels disconnected from your son or daughter, you may be feeling helpless, angry, hurt and alone. Perhaps a wall has grown between you and your teen. He or she might refuse to speak to you, almost seeming angry or hostile at times. Your teen might have also started performing poorly in school. Calls home about plummeting grades, behavioral issues or conflicts with teachers and peers are perhaps a regular occurrence in your household.

To further compound your frustration, you might fight with your spouse over the proper way to raise your children. You may feel angry or resentful toward your partner, especially if he or she refuses to discipline and leaves it up to you to do the “dirty work.” What’s more, constant fighting, yelling and bickering with your spouse can create unsettling behavioral changes in your children and lead to disharmony within your whole family. Your teen might have begun to display poor self-esteem or self-isolating behaviors. Once home from school, your teen might immediately retreat to the bedroom and lock the door, engaging in social media, playing videogames or smoking pot for hours on end.

By now, you may have become worried about your teen’s ability to socialize in the real world and want to unplug the cord from the computer and TV. You may desperately want to help your child develop into a happy, healthy, successful adult, but feel powerless as a parent.

The Modern World Makes Parenting Challenging

Parenthood is one of the most difficult and important jobs a person can take on during a lifetime. To make matters worse, the modern way in which we live has made parenting more difficult than ever. We are overscheduled and overbooked, running uphill in a success-driven society that often necessitates a two-income household. It’s no surprise that many of us are spending less time with our children than we would like. Unfortunately, missed family time can negatively impact children, who can become frustrated, angry and disconnected. Thankfully, it’s not too late to get your family back on track. With the help of therapy, you can begin to repair the family bond and learn some new parenting tools along the way.

Family Therapy Can Help Children And Parents

Family therapy can be very effective if you are willing to be vulnerable and honest and are committed to working hard. By learning to take ownership of your situation and cultivating a willingness to take steps toward positive change, you and your family can begin to heal from past hurts.

In sessions, you’ll find a safe, blame-free space in which everyone can express themselves without judgment or shame. You’ll be able to open up about your family’s experience and learn to value everyone’s emotions and needs – including your own. Together we can identify the foundational issues contributing to your family’s conflict. I believe in taking a holistic approach to treating families – looking at the entire family dynamic rather than just a singular problem (or person).

Family therapy can help you develop new and effective parenting skills. I can help you become a better communicator and a better listener for your children. In sessions, you and your partner can learn how to set consistent boundaries and collaborate on appropriate discipline techniques, enabling you to work together instead of against each other. In terms of your relationship, you can begin to put down your defenses, become open to each other’s point of view and maybe even discover you hold the same values, hopes and aspirations.

Family therapy will address your child’s needs too. During sessions, your teen can have the experience of building a healthy, fulfilling relationship with a mentor (that’s me!). Often I work with teens outside the office setting. We go rock climbing, do wilderness exploration or even just take a walk and get a burrito. Taking counseling outside of the office often creates an approachable and fun environment for teens – one that builds trust and creates a safe atmosphere for opening up about the issues they find most troubling. In sessions, I’ll also help your teen identify, explore and challenge any negative belief systems that he or she might have, which may be hindering your child’s ability to have positive relationships with teachers, parents and peers. In turn, you may have some of your own negative perceptions challenged, which can ultimately help you listen to your child with more openness, sincerity and compassion.

With the help of therapy, it’s possible to reestablish tranquility, joy and happiness in your household. As a therapist, I’m easy to talk to, open and non-judgmental. I create a warm, supportive environment, aided by my therapy akita!

By now you may be ready to try family therapy, but still have some questions or concerns…

Family therapy is too expensive.

Counseling does require some investment, but how much is the disquiet in your household costing your family? Family conflict might be costing you your emotional health, your relationship with your children and spouse and your children’s prospect for the best possible future. These things are invaluable and once they are gone you can never buy them back.

Family therapy is too time consuming. My kid has soccer practice and I have to work late.

If your hope is to achieve greater self-esteem for your children, a better relationship with your spouse and overall tranquility in your household, you may have to rearrange some priorities. Just like the physical health many of us hope to achieve through exercise, family and emotional health requires time, commitment and constant maintenance. By not maintaining your family’s health, your problems are only likely to grow, worsen and fester.

I’m worried I’ll find out I’m a bad parent.

You’re not a “bad parent.” You wouldn’t be consulting this website if you were. By educating yourself about the therapeutic options available, you have already demonstrated you have the resources to become the best parent you can be.

Make Family Your Bottom Line

I always find qualities in my clients that are genuinely beautiful. I hope you and your family can begin to see these qualities too. Please feel free to call me at (303) 475-4625. I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation and would be happy to answer any questions. In the meantime, visit my blog to learn more about my approach to treating families and other mental health issues.

What Families Say…

Stuart has helped my family hold together through some very difficult relationship issues…read more