PAASI Family Therapy works with all different types of families. Issues can arise in any family, whether it is our immediate family, our family of origin, or our extended family. All families are blended in one respect or another; and the larger the family, the more variables that exist during natural life interactions.
Every family is a system, a whole made up of many parts. The family begins to form as two people join their lives together. Each partner is unique and comes with their own set of beliefs, both from their family of origin and from their experiences as they have grown up. Together they try to intertwine their beliefs, creating a new set of beliefs as to how the family should run, how they should handle child rearing, and how they should interact with the outside world. The new belief system becomes the foundation of the family, the basis for the children as their family of origin. As one person shifts, the rest of the system needs to shift in order to maintain balance and homeostasis.
When we have agreed to a belief system for our children that we do not fully believe in, the foundation is not as strong as it could be, and issues can arise later down the road. For example, partner A concedes to going to church every Sunday even though he/she does not fully believe it is important. Partner A agreed because it was important to partner B. However, throughout child rearing, partner A at times will miss Sunday service. When the children move through adolescence, one of the children begins to push against going to Sunday service, which creates friction between the child and partner B. Everything we choose when building our familial foundation will either be a source of strength or a source for needed growth within the family structure. At PAASI Family Therapy, we help families identify the source of the distress by looking at the family as a whole, as well as individuals who are parts to the whole.
As we transition through life, every family must shift along the way. These are natural life transitions that every person goes through. It is when we do not have the necessary tools or skill sets for those transitions that we encounter problems, but we are here to help you pivot with grace as we grow and change over time. Give us a call to schedule a session to begin healing and learning new ways to cope through these life transitions.