Family members can hurt each other enough to cut-off relations.
Some struggles includes in-laws (grandparents). Some families have adoption and interracial complexity. Siblings each have their own version of the family.
Families seek help for emotional and religious changes, financial and educational challenges, or transgender issues.
In a new wrinkle on an old problem, some families have a secret jihadist, whose existence is revealed by the F.B.I. Secrets may wreak havoc on family relationships.
When a new family is blended after re-marriage, struggles intensify.
As a family coach, I help cut-off families to repair, blended families to knit together, and new family members or ideas to integrate.
Testimonial
His, hers, and but not “ours”– our blended family was exploding. My husband and son weren’t speaking. My sister was fighting with me on behalf of her nephew, and my parents were making trouble with financial “support” only for “my” kids. Our previous therapist brought us to the brink of disaster. Candida saved our family. – C (NC)
Relevant articles from my blog
All in the Family: The Identified Patient
“Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.”
You only had to make it through the first chapter [first line, to be honest] of Anna Karenina to find this out–and there will be no quizzes assessing your knowledge of the novel after, so you’re home free now.
Click here to read moreFamily systems: Children Acting Out Parental Power Struggles
Charlotte* was a energetic, exciting, dominant woman. She chose Charlie,* her opposite. Charlie ate the same menu almost every day: 2 eggs, chicken salad for lunch, chicken or pasta for dinner. This drove Charlotte wild, and she let Charlie know how boring she thought he was. She loved changes and adventures, gourmet food and fine wine.
Charlotte loved to travel. Even planning the trip was a thrill. She skillfully arranged each leg of the journey to maximize the locale’s greatest hits, and, naturally, its best cuisine. Charlie would have to negotiate hard and long for the occasional stay-in-the-hotel room service meal, which he ate in near exhaustion from the day’s excursion.