Family Therapy
Helping caregivers and children find their way back to each other
Family life can get
loud
...sometimes literally
Big feelings, slammed doors, morning battles… families can end the day feeling exhausted, frustrated and farther apart than they want to be.
When the same difficult moments keep happening, it can start to feel like everyone’s reacting instead of connecting. Parents may wonder what they’re doing wrong. Children may struggle to explain what they’re feeling or why everything suddenly feels so hard.
I offer family therapy that focuses on strengthening the relationship between children and the people who care for them. My approach is based on Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, or CPRT, a play therapy-based model that helps parents better understand their child’s emotional world and learn new ways to respond with empathy, confidence and consistency. Research conducted in 2013 has shown that CPRT can strengthen family functioning in areas like family satisfaction, communication and connection.
The goal isn’t to create a child who never gets upset or a parent who handles every difficult moment perfectly. The goal is to help families understand each other better, feel more connected and move through hard moments together.
I offer family therapy that focuses on strengthening the relationship between children and the people who care for them. My approach is based on Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, or CPRT, a play therapy-based model that helps parents better understand their child’s emotional world and learn new ways to respond with empathy, confidence and consistency.
Research conducted in 2013 has shown that CPRT can strengthen family functioning in areas like family satisfaction, communication and connection.
The goal isn’t to create a child who never gets upset or a parent who handles every difficult moment perfectly. The goal is to help families understand each other better, feel more connected and move through hard moments together.
but things still feel hard
Families can love each other deeply and still get stuck.
Maybe your child seems to melt down over everything lately. Maybe simple requests turn into power struggles, conversations quickly become arguments or you feel like you’ve tried every parenting strategy imaginable and somehow no one is happy.
Sometimes children become angry, anxious, clingy, withdrawn, defiant or overwhelmed. Sometimes parents find themselves repeating the same directions, raising their voices more than they want to or second-guessing every decision they make.
This often means something important is happening beneath the surface and your family may need support in slowing things down enough to understand it.
In family therapy, I help parents look beyond the behavior alone and become curious about what a child may be communicating through their emotions, actions and play. Together, we work on strengthening the relationship so that difficult moments can become opportunities for greater understanding instead of another round in the same exhausting battle.
Parents aren’t side characters in their child’s life. You’re one of the most important parts of their world.
That’s why my approach to family therapy doesn’t simply focus on changing a child’s behavior while parents wait outside hoping I return with a mysteriously updated version of their kid.
You’re part of the process.
Through principles based on Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, I help caregivers learn ways to connect with their children through play, recognize the needs and feelings beneath behavior, respond with greater empathy and set limits while preserving the relationship.
The idea isn’t to turn you into your child’s therapist but to help you feel more confident in the relationship you already have.
Parents aren’t side characters in their child’s life. You’re one of the most important parts of their world.
That’s why my approach to family therapy doesn’t simply focus on changing a child’s behavior while parents wait outside hoping I return with a mysteriously updated version of their kid.
You know your child in ways no one else does. I bring clinical training, play therapy experience and an understanding of child development. You bring years of knowing your child’s personality, history and wonderfully specific opinions about which color cup is apparently acceptable today.
We work together.
You’re part of the process.
Through principles based on Child-Parent Relationship Therapy, I help caregivers learn ways to connect with their children through play, recognize the needs and feelings beneath behavior, respond with greater empathy and set limits while preserving the relationship.
The idea isn’t to turn you into your child’s therapist but to help you feel more confident in the relationship you already have.
You know your child in ways no one else does. I bring clinical training, play therapy experience and an understanding of child development. You bring years of knowing your child’s personality, history and wonderfully specific opinions about which color cup is apparently acceptable today.
We work together.
A different kind of
For children, sitting across from an adult and carefully explaining their emotional world isn’t always realistic. Many children don’t yet have the words to fully describe what they’re experiencing.
Play gives us another way in.
In my work with families, parents can learn how to enter their child’s world differently. Instead of immediately directing, correcting or questioning your child, you begin practicing ways to slow down, listen and respond.
Behavior is often the part we notice first, especially when it’s loud, disruptive or happening for the eighteenth time before breakfast. I help parents look beyond what a child is doing and become more curious about what may be happening underneath it.
During special play times, children are given opportunities to lead while parents practice being fully present in a different way. This can help children feel seen, valued and understood while giving parents a window into how their child experiences the world.
Children don’t always say, “I feel disappointed and powerless right now." Sometimes they cry, yell or disappear into their room. Parents can learn ways to recognize and respond to those emotions without necessarily giving in, fixing everything or pretending difficult behavior is suddenly okay.
Empathy doesn’t mean having no boundaries. Children need limits and parents need ways to set them that feel clear, calm and respectful. Family therapy can help caregivers respond to difficult behavior while protecting both the relationship and the boundary.
For children, sitting across from an adult and carefully explaining their emotional world isn’t always realistic. Many children don’t yet have the words to fully describe what they’re experiencing.
Play gives us another way in.
In my work with families, parents can learn how to enter their child’s world differently. Instead of immediately directing, correcting or questioning your child, you begin practicing ways to slow down, listen and respond.
Behavior is often the part we notice first, especially when it’s loud, disruptive or happening for the eighteenth time before breakfast. I help parents look beyond what a child is doing and become more curious about what may be happening underneath it.
During special play times, children are given opportunities to lead while parents practice being fully present in a different way. This can help children feel seen, valued and understood while giving parents a window into how their child experiences the world.
Children don’t always say, “I feel disappointed and powerless right now." Sometimes they cry, yell or disappear into their room. Parents can learn ways to recognize and respond to those emotions without necessarily giving in, fixing everything or pretending difficult behavior is suddenly okay.
Empathy doesn’t mean having no boundaries. Children need limits and parents need ways to set them that feel clear, calm and respectful. Family therapy can help caregivers respond to difficult behavior while protecting both the relationship and the boundary.
To adults, play can sometimes look like something children do when nothing important is happening. To children, quite a lot can be happening.
Through play, children explore ideas, work through experiences, practice control and communicate things they may not yet know how to put into words.
In family therapy, play can also become a powerful way for parents and children to connect.
I may help you learn skills for special play times with your child where the focus isn’t on correcting, quizzing or making sure the activity turns out a certain way. Instead, the goal is to create a space where your child can experience your attention, acceptance and the joy of your presence.
For some parents, this feels surprisingly different at first. We’re so used to asking questions, offering suggestions, giving instructions and trying to help that simply following a child’s lead can feel almost unnatural.
But that shift can reveal a lot. You begin noticing more. Your child may begin sharing more. And over time, the relationship can become a place where both of you feel more understood.
When family life becomes stressful, everyone can get pulled into patterns. Family therapy gives us space to slow those moments down.
Perfect parenting is a
Family therapy isn’t a report card on your parenting.
I’m not here to judge you or point out everything you should’ve done differently. I won’t hand you a list of flawless parenting strategies apparently designed for people who have unlimited patience, eight hours of sleep and children who calmly put on their shoes the first time they’re asked.
I’m a mom too. I understand that real family life is messy.
Parents get tired. Children have hard days. Sometimes you handle a situation beautifully and sometimes you think of the perfect response three hours later while standing in the shower.
That’s being part of a modern family.
My job is to come alongside you, help you better understand what may be happening within the relationship and give you practical ways to create more connection, confidence and calm in everyday life.
You don’t have to become a perfect parent.
Your child doesn’t have to become a perfect child.
You can both start learning healthier ways to understand and respond to each other.
may benefit from additional support if
without having to find all the right words first. Because asking a child to sit down, make eye contact, and calmly explain the complicated emotional experience happening inside their brain is a pretty big request when some adults still cannot decide what they want for dinner.
- Power struggles, meltdowns or arguments seem to happen frequently
- Your child is experiencing anxiety, anger, sadness, withdrawal or difficult behavior
- You feel disconnected from your child and aren’t sure how to reach them
- Your family is moving through a major change, loss, transition or stressful experience
- Parenting strategies that once worked no longer seem effective
- You want to strengthen your relationship with your child before problems become bigger
- Power struggles, meltdowns or arguments seem to happen frequently
- Your child is experiencing anxiety, anger, sadness, withdrawal or difficult behavior
- You feel disconnected from your child and aren’t sure how to reach them
- Your family is moving through a major change, loss, transition or stressful experience
- Parenting strategies that once worked no longer seem effective
- You want to strengthen your relationship with your child before problems become bigger
for more connection
You don’t need to have everything figured out before reaching out. Sometimes a stronger connection begins with one small change.
We can start with a free 15-minute consultation, talk about what’s been happening and explore whether family therapy may be the right next step for your child and their caregivers.
Let’s start there.
