Family Counseling

Dealing With Health Issues – Health issues can be a great burden for families. Our counselors can be in place to help families understand and come to terms with a health diagnosis and deal with consequent behaviors.

If it is a physical ailment that might require a lot of adjustments, the counselor can help in managing emotions and dealing with new roles in the family. If a member is however dealing with a mental health issue, family counseling can be of service in that it brings the family together to understand their loved one and know how to be of assistance. The counselor becomes a support for the family

Dealing with Grief – When a family experiences the death of a loved one, all the members will navigate it differently. This can be a painful and confusing time for everyone. Grief counseling for families will help make sense of the loss and also help each member process their grief and be allowed to understand other family members’ grief journey without judgment.

Strengthening of Family Relationships – Not all families that come for family counseling are in crisis. If your family wishes to align themselves with God’s plan for families counseling can help. In this situation, our counselors will work with the family in identifying the strengths and weaknesses and where there is a need for improvement.

Disconnection of Members – Due to a lot of reasons, families might find themselves in a situation where they have disconnected from members of the family. They may be looking for help in reconnecting and dealing with the issues that caused the disconnection in the first place. This can also be a platform for families to try and bring in a family member that is estranged back into the family.

Dealing With Trauma – In life, family members might experience a traumatic event together and would need help in processing it all and coping mechanisms. For example, witnessing violence, being robbed, or being involved in a natural disaster can be devastating for a family to go through without professional help.

In situations like these, our counselors will be able to give practical tools for understanding what occurred and how to cope. This is also especially important even if it is only one family member that experiences a traumatic event. The whole family will be affected, needing support and strategies to help them move forward together.

Going Through Transition – Family life comes with many changes. These changes could be small or they could be huge. When a family is going through a transition, they might require the help of a counselor. A professional can help them transition and also give each member of the family an opportunity to be heard about how they feel about the change.

Some transitions can be traumatic for children and this needs special attention, children need their voices to be heard and validated so they are not living in fear and anxiety. Through counseling, the family will be put to ease and given tools to deal with these transitions. Examples of difficult transitions could be:

• Birth of a sibling
• Relocation and changing schools
• Divorce or Re-marriage
• Death of a family member
• Dealing With Grief
• Unemployment

When a family experiences the loss of a loved one it can be devastating. The feelings of loss and grief could be too much to handle for individual family members. During this very difficult time, a counselor can come in and help the family process their grief, learn how to be there for each other, and help them regain their strength.

Addressing Behavioral Problems in Children – Behavior changes in children can be alarming, especially if it is out of character. As children grow, they go through normal changes but if the changes are concerning or out of character counseling can help.

Families can seek counseling to understand their child’s struggles and how those struggles are affecting the family as a whole. Through counseling, parents and siblings will be allowed to understand their loved ones, know how to act, and work towards solutions. Concerning behaviors include withdrawal, aggression, impulsivity, or engaging in dangerous behavior like taking drugs or self-harming.

Navigating Teenage Years – The teenage years are a season filled with a lot of stress and anxiety for parents. There can be feelings of uneasiness as well as emotional and mental challenges.

Family counseling during this stage of development aids both the parents and the teenager have an opportunity to talk and voice their concerns and experiences. Through the professional guidance of a counselor, parents and teenagers will be equipped with tools that foster understanding, help in creating realistic boundaries and encourage healthy communication.

Dynamics of Blended Families or Step Parenting – Bringing two families to form one can be a huge challenge for everyone involved. Things do not have to be contentious for people to seek counseling. Counseling can be done as a way of avoiding common pitfalls. When a parent remarries, it is quite a transition for the children who now have to navigate new roles. Parents in this situation are also stepping into the role of step-parenting and navigating all those dynamics.

Through family counseling, blended families and step families can be equipped to deal with all the transitions, and foster healthy communication and healthy boundaries for everyone involved for the sake of the family.

Goals Of Family Counseling

• Have someone to facilitate, moderate and mediate the space for difficult conversations
• Improving the functioning of the family
• Help in resolving long-standing conflicts
• Foster forgiveness and understanding
• Help bring the estranged member back into the family
• Give voice to all members of the family