How it works
How about your own Personal Family Therapist? The way it works is that a family hires me for a flat monthly fee as their family's own personal therapist. I work with members of the family on an as-needed basis, sometimes with one partner or the other, sometimes with just the children, sometimes with everyone together. Sessions are NOT limited to the usual 50 minutes. If a session needs to continue for an unspecified length of time, I can make myself available. If one of the children wants to meet with me via Chat, I can make myself available for that as well. For a family to have a skilled healing professional on staff, someone who thinks well about the entire family, who knows and cares about every member of the family, is of tremendous value.
A family does not need to be distressed to really benefit from having a relationship such as this. There are so many stresses and anxiety in life. There is always room to grow, find greater success, and become more connected to ourselves and to the people we love. Having one's own Personal Family Therapist can help open lines of communication between family members, so that each person can better remember how much they mean to each other. My fee for this service is usually somewhere between $500 to $1000 per month, depending on the services we agree upon.
An appreciation
A letter appreciation from a former client...
“Ilene, we are so appreciative of all that you have done for our family. Our entire family trusts you and we feel like you helped us stay a family even though we went through a difficult divorce. We are really proud that we can be together during birthdays, or help each other out with the kids if something comes up. Ilene, you made us realize that when you have kids, the person that you’re divorcing is still going to be in your life, so you might as well learn how to get along with them. Every family going through divorce should have their own personal family therapist! Thank you, Ilene, for all you have done for our family.”
Family therapy
Family therapy provides a neutral and safe environment where family members can listen to and talk with each other with the guidance of an impartial professional. No matter what their age, each family member will have a chance to address their concerns and feelings. The therapist acts as the moderator to ensure that all voices are heard, concerns are acknowledged and emotions are validated. This process can go a long way towards helping family members learn and practice more effective methods of communication.
Family therapy can also be very helpful when two parents disagree about what is causing their child’s behavior and/or how to respond to it. Putting a child in individual therapy isn’t that effective if the parents are in conflict about how they deal with problems. Through family therapy, relationships between family members can be strengthened, and parents can become empowered to handle other problems that may develop with their child from the strategies they learn in therapy.
Studies show that children whose families participate in therapy experience a higher rate of successful treatment, and are less likely to relapse than simply putting the child in therapy. During family therapy, the therapist is in a position to point out communication styles that could be impacting the family dynamic.
If your family is struggling with ongoing conflicts or a lack of cohesion, feel free to give me a call to see if working with a family therapist might provide the information and support your family needs to come back into connection with each other.