Family difficulties
Families can play an incredibly important role in our lives
But that doesn’t mean family relationships are always easy to manage.
You might find yourself having the same arguments over and over again, struggling to communicate clearly or feeling like your privacy and boundaries aren’t respected.
Perhaps you’ve tried setting boundaries with a difficult family member, only to find that nothing seems to change.
Some families become very involved in each other’s lives or rely heavily on one another. In other families, you may feel neglected, taken advantage of or like important needs have never really been met.
There may also be aggressive or abusive behaviour that makes the relationship particularly difficult to navigate.
Finding a different way to relate
I don’t provide family therapy, but I do work with individuals who want to understand and improve their family relationships.
Therapy can give you space to look at what happens within these relationships, what you need from them and work with what is and isn’t within your control.
You might want to find ways of communicating more clearly so that you can express what you need or reduce some of the conflict. You may want to work out how to maintain a relationship with someone while having boundaries that better protect your own needs.
Sometimes the work is about finding more balance and stability within a difficult relationship rather than trying to change the other person.
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What do you want this relationship to look like?
There isn’t one right outcome when it comes to family.
For some people, the goal is to find a different way of engaging with a family member so that the relationship can continue in a way that feels safer and more authentic.
For others, maintaining the relationship may no longer be safe. Therapy can also support you if you decide you need to safely end a difficult family relationship.
My role isn’t to tell you what your relationship with your family should look like. It’s to help you understand what you need, communicate that more effectively and find a way of relating that respects your needs and boundaries better.
Thinking about starting therapy?
If you’re thinking about starting therapy, you’re welcome to get in touch.
You can ask any questions you have, learn a little more about my approach, or book an appointment if you feel ready to get started. If you’d prefer to speak first, you can also request a free 15-minute initial conversation to briefly talk about what you’re looking for and whether I might be the right therapist for you.