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Family Therapy
Healthy Relationships Start with Families
Family is everything. But family life can be messy, complicated, and challenging at times. Whether you have concerns about attachment or behavior with your young child, want to strengthen communication with your pre-teen or teenager, or are navigating family changes, we're here to support you.
We have specialized training and experience in areas such as attachment, behavioral concerns, and the emotional aspects of communication and relationships. Family therapy also provides a space for families to explore their communication patterns with an expert who can direct them toward healthier and more harmonious ways of interacting. We often find that even when it seems that only one family member is struggling, addressing wider family dynamics is the most powerful path to healing.
How Can Family Therapy Help?
Family Therapy Topics in Denver, CO
Family Therapy with Teens
Do you have a sense that your teen is struggling, but you feel out of the loop? In family therapy, we help you express your concerns in a non-judgmental way that teens can actually hear.
By helping families to speak about hard things, we often uncover older, deeper patterns that contribute to the emotional distance felt by all. We then work to help all family members to feel heard and valued. Our goal is to bring closeness through vulnerability.
Family Therapy for Transitions
During difficult life transitions, we want to know that we can count on our family. However, big changes come with a lot of stress, which sometimes affects relational patterns in surprising ways.
Family therapy can be especially helpful when:
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a loved one is diagnosed with an illness or dies
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a family member needs mental health treatment
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the family is moving to a new city
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teens are going away for college
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a family member experiences a traumatic event
Family Therapy for Trauma
In all close relationships, people inevitably hurt each other.
At the same time, open, honest, and supportive relationships are the most powerful sources of healing.
We help families heal from traumas that have occurred both within and outside of the family.
Why Family Therapy?
A Holistic Approach
Family therapy recognizes that individuals are deeply interconnected within their family system. By involving the family unit in therapy, we address underlying family patterns, rather than placing the responsibility on a single family member to change. We harness the power of relationships in a safe and open therapeutic space.
Benefits of Family Therapy
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Improve communication and listening skills
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Identify old, unhelpful patterns and create new ones
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Set boundaries and stick to them
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Develop systems for managing family conflict
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Heal old and new relational wounds
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Learn how to give and accept apologies
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Support LGBTQ+ family members
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Find ways to enjoy each other
Family Therapy with Teens
Our clinicians love working with teens and their parents as they transition out of childhood and into adulthood. Most teens deal with the internal conflict of craving independence and separation, but still needing boundaries and closeness from their parents.
We help families navigate the teen and early adult years together, focusing on the unique needs of each family member and how those needs interact in the family system. While all teens have a need for autonomy, parents still want to feel in the loop.
Family therapy provides a space to practice new ways of relating to each other so that all family members feel heard and valued.
Family Therapy FAQs
Who should attend family therapy sessions?
The best family therapy outcomes happen when all household members are committed to the family therapy process. We often work with college-aged clients and young adults, and family therapy can work well over video using our telehealth platform.
I don't think my teen wants to do family therapy.
At Panorama Psychology, we know that we can't force anybody to do anything (and it wouldn't work if we could). However, we usually find that if parents explain to teens that family therapy is to help everybody, not just the teen, they are often receptive to the idea of their parents needing to change some things. You might encourage your teen to give it a try for one session.
How do I know if we need family therapy vs. individual therapy?
Family therapy focuses on the family's emotional and behavioral patterns, while individual therapy focuses more on the individual's patterns. Some clients benefit from engaging in both individual and family therapy, but we generally start with one or the other. You can schedule a Free 15 Minute Consultation and we can help you decide what makes the most sense.