Family and Couples Therapy supports clients with:
- Developing a better understanding of their family context and dynamics
- Navigating family transitions
- Couples counselling
- Coping with separation and divorce
- Living in a blended family
- Managing parenting issues
- Adolescent issues and self esteem
Overview:
What happens in our families has the power to bring us great joy , feelings of nurturance and fulfillment and also deep sorrow, frustration and loss. Many families have to navigate through similar developmental transitions throughout the course of their journey together, all of which come with their own challenges and demands on the families flexibility and resources. These can include a new marriage, the birth of a child, relocation or the loss of a family member. While many of these transitions are similar, each family also has it’s own unique and unfolding story, co-created by the experiences and interactions of it’s members. Working with families provides a unique and powerful opportunity for members to come together in a safe context where they can explore and deepen their current understanding of their family narrative, and also discuss their fears, frustrations and where they might feel at a roadblock with each other. Through this process, in my experience, even families who come feeling that they can’t see a way forward and that they have exhausted all avenues of hope, leave therapy with a different perspective and renewed sense of possibility.
What to Expect:
In Couples counseling, I initially encourage partners to first attend an individual session with me before we then come together for a con-joint session in the 3rd counselling session. This provides each individual with the opportunity to share more of the context of their own perspective and experience to date which usually couples are eager to discuss in the first session. Using a combination of Imago Therapy and EFT strategies, I work with the couple then to find shared objectives and goals, and ultimately to help each partner to speak more to the needs and healing that the other is looking for. Importantly, to boost connection, I provide couples with practical tools to enhance their communication skills with each other. We also work together to strengthen the couples foundation and connection with each other through emphasising the role of consistent appreciation , validation and also ways in which they can make sure their ‘love-banks’ stay full throughout the course of their relationship.
“Eternally thankful, from dire straights Anoushka helped my wife and I bridge our differences, understand our shortcomings and put us on a path to happiness.” – Anonymous, Director, 39
In Family therapy sessions all members of the family are invited to share their perspective of the family context/story, although very young children may be excluded if appropriate. We work together to help members develop greater insight into each other’s individual experiences of the family’s history and challenges to date, as well as where they feel they might be getting stuck with each other. In the first session, we also work together to develop a plan which reflects the family’s specific goals and objectives for the future. Through therapy, family members develop more awareness, flexibility and greater resources to navigate through life’s challenges both as individuals as also as a unit.