Family Counseling and Therapy 

Family counseling is one of the best ways to address and resolve intra-familial conflicts, and South Bay Counseling LCSW PC is the counseling center to help conduct family therapy professionally. Whether your family is just starting out and you require guidance or all members of your family are adults needing to work through conflict, we’re ready to understand and help. Through our family counseling sessions, we will show you how to best communicate between one another in order to have your particular concerns known and be able to work toward resolving them.

We will work with your whole family to come to understand the underlying factors that are contributing to the conflicts that have become apparent. Whether the root of the issues are caused by changes in lifestyle, issues at school or work, grief or other family struggles, we’ve been able to uncover and find workable solutions to the issues that plague the relationships of the families we’ve helped. Instead of focusing on the problems that have arisen and where blame should lie, we proactively search for solutions to the issues your family is experiencing and how each member has a role in these new solutions.

How do I know if family counseling is right for me?

Do you believe that you and your partner’s parenting styles aren’t aligned? Are you a single parent? Do your children seem rebellious, uncooperative, or are they acting out at school? If you answered yes to any of these questions, or if you are noticing that you are concerned about what is covered above, then family counseling is a step you should consider taking.

What is the difference between marriage and family counseling?

Marriage or couple’s counseling focuses intensely on the relationship between two partners. Fighting about in-laws or children may occur within the couple, but the focus of the treatment is on healing the rift between the two, not the larger family system.

Family counseling gives all members of the family the help they need. It is assumed that problems can be interrelated, so they need to be worked on simultaneously. For example, when there are marital problems, the children’s performance at school may suffer or the children can act out in other ways. When children are causing strife within the family, it can create serious problems within a marriage.

What are the benefits of working with a family counselor?

It is a delicate art working with a family. There’s confidentiality to be maintained and structure to be upheld. There’s giving parenting advice and bonding with children who don’t trust adults. There’s la lot of skill in listening to each member without siding with any one person or subsystem. And of course, the counseling must be skilled in letting each person vent without having sessions deteriorate into shouting matches. Working with a skilled family counselor can make all the difference in outcome.

What type of topics are covered during a typical family counseling session?

Well, so many it’s hard to cover them all. Families often come for therapy because there seems to be an obvious problem—the children are misbehaving at home or at school, are using drugs, have anger issues, have no friends, are in trouble with the law, or aren’t following rules at home. As you can see, there can be many variations on why the children may cause the parents to want to have their children attend therapy.

Once the problem is explored and the parents explain their methods of handling it, it may become necessary to meet with the parents to go over parenting skills or help them navigate their issues with authority while their children are in the room.

In the session, each person will have a say as to what they believe is the problem and how to solve it while the family counselor assists with communication skills and problem-solving. As time goes on, we expect to see the initial problems resolve and progress being made steadily.

How long is a family counseling session?

All sessions are 45 minutes, once or twice per week.

What type of results can I expect with a family counseling session?

Results can vary, but we are goal oriented. Each family member will create a goal, and progress will be tracked. If goals aren’t achieving progress, more work will need to be done, or the goal will need to be adjusted. Overall, we aim for a harmonious family outcome where roles are fulfilled and interactions are loving and cooperative.

If you would like to see how family counseling on Long Island can help settle the conflicts in your family and bring everybody closer through improved communication and understanding, call South Bay Counseling LCSW PC today at (631) 264-0058 or fill out our appointment request form to schedule an appointment today. We offer remote appointments every day of the week. We provide family counseling services to residents of Nassau and Suffolk County and the surrounding areas.