Family Counseling Baltimore & Rockville
If you are in the Baltimore or Washington DC area, the Center for Intimacy, Connection and Change (CICC) helps people like you end the negative cycles and learn how to communicate and resolve conflict through family therapy.
Family therapy is important. We all want our families to be happy, connected and healthy. Even the strongest families can encounter stresses and life circumstances that make it difficult to maintain or fix the relationships we want.
The repetitive cycle of conflict, disconnect and the inability to reach someone can be distressing.
Family can be a source of happiness, closeness and warmth. Ideally a family serves a safe and secure base for its members and provides support in times of need. Parents decide to expand their families with the best wishes, hopes and intentions for their children.
As life goes on it can be harder to make those dreams a reality and a family has to contend with the ebbs and flows of life. Challenges can weigh on the family and turn it into a source of pain and hurt for its members. Many parents find themselves bewildered and upset with how far reality has strayed from the vision that they had for their family. This is entirely normal and arguably a part of the family process. And it can get better.
Common Questions About Family Therapy
INDIVIDUAL OR FAMILY THERAPY?
The focus of family therapy is to help the members of the family resolve conflict, improve communication and create a more harmonious home life. Family dynamics can be challenging and at times can bring out the worst in its members.
Individually, each family member may be functioning well in social, educational and employment settings. More often than not family dynamics are the cause of the problems and not any specific individual member. Our trained family therapists can help determine what parts of the dynamics are responsible and can work with you to address them.
WHO IS FAMILY THERAPY FOR?
Contrary to popular belief, family therapy is not limited to families with young or little children. As the popular adage goes, “Little children little challenges, bigger children bigger challenges”.
Many families find that as the children become emerging adults new dynamics crop up that are difficult to navigate. As children get older their decisions take on more significance and can be a source of tension and conflict within the family.
Even when children establish relationships and families of their own, tensions between child and parent or between siblings can persist. There is no age limit to a family therapy process.
DOES THE WHOLE FAMILY HAVE TO BE THERE?
Not necessarily. Family therapy is about changing the dynamics that contribute to or maintain problems, and every family is different. For some families, multiple or all members may need to be present to achieve the desired outcomes. For other families or situations, only some members or even an individual is needed in order to shift and change the dynamics. Yes, an individual can create change within the family by his or herself.
WHAT CAN FAMILY THERAPY HELP WITH?
Communication – Communication in families can be challenging at times. Getting through to the people you love is not always easy. If family members are prone to anger outbursts, agitation, silence or stonewalling, approaching or engaging them can be difficult. In other instances, it can seem impossible to have a conversation without it leading to difficult issues.
Resolving patterns of conflict – Being in a family can feel like being on a repetitive cycle. No matter how many times you have sworn to yourself to not get into it with someone it seems to happen again and again. There are emotional processes that keep families stuck in specific patterns and family therapy can help you address them and make things different.
Navigating life transitions – Families, like individuals, go throw changes and life transitions. The family system serves different purposes as its members grow and age. Sometimes the needs of the members of the family grow and change faster than the family is able to adapt. This can create friction between the family members. Family therapy can help with these transitions.
Coping with loss or tragedy – Some form of loss, trauma or heartbreak is inevitable in a family. Depending on the scope and impact, some families will navigate these events well while others may struggle. Either outcome is normal and not necessarily a reflection of a fundamental problem with the family. Needing assistance after the loss of a loved one, divorce or a financial hardship is understandable.
Supporting a family member – There are times that a member of the family is in need of specific support. This is common if he or she is struggling with mental health challenges. There are times that even the most supportive families need specific help or guidance around navigating the particulars of the family members needs.
HOW DOES FAMILY THERAPY WORK?
Family therapy focuses on a number of areas of the family unit. A family therapist will assess the family structure, communication patterns and cycles and the nature and quality of relationships. Therapy can include shifting elements of the family structure, strengthening bonds between members, facilitating improved communication skills and helping the family learn how to utilize its strengths to solve their unique family challenges.
