Find a Family Therapist in Sterling, VA
When your family is having difficulties, you may be trying to find a family therapist in Sterling, Virginia. It’s not uncommon for many families to go through tough times every once in a while. Even families with the strongest bonds may have disagreements from time to time. However, if your family issues are becoming too much to handle, it may be time to find a family therapist in Sterling, VA. Family therapy can help everyone communicate more effectively and work through issues.
How Does Family Therapy Help?
When there is a major conflict in the family, it can make your day-to-day life much more difficult. You may have trouble concentrating at work or lose focus when you’re talking to other people. If you find a family therapist in Sterling VA, he or she can help you and your family members get back on the right track. Here are several issues a family therapist can help with:
-Mental illnesses
-Alcohol or substance abuse
-Infidelity
-Separation or divorce
-Financial problems
-Children’s behavior problems
-Death in the family
-Taking care of family members with special needs
-Disagreements between family members
What Can You Expect During Family Therapy?
If you and your family have never gone to family therapy before, you may be nervous and unsure of what to expect. You’ll be happy to know that a family therapist will be non-judgmental and try hard to make everyone feel comfortable.
After you find a family therapist in Sterling VA, the therapist will ask you and your family members to come in for your first session. He or she will have everyone sit in the same room and ask them how they feel about the problems that the family is currently facing. The therapist will assess how everyone interacts with one another. It’s likely that the therapist will also speak to each family member individually.
During the initial session, the family therapist may also go over the basic rules of therapy, such as dates and times of meetings, confidentiality, and a rough estimate of how long the treatment will last.
At family therapy, you can identify your family’s strengths and weaknesses, examine your family’s ability to solve a conflict and look at family roles and behavior patterns to find issues that contribute to the conflict.
Learn How We Can Help
As you are preparing to find a family therapist Serling, VA has to offer, call Lindsey Hoskins & Associates with any questions you may have. You may be nervous to start family therapy. What does that mean for you and your loved ones? Will one or two sessions heal the hurt you have in your family? Will you finally be able to talk about how you feel during arguments? We understand that family therapy can seem very daunting. However, we are here to make this a unique and valuable experience for each of you. We care about getting you results that help your family. That does not mean every minute of therapy will be happy or comfortable. Instead, we want to get to the heart of the issues. For more information on how to find a Sterling, Virginia family therapist, call us now.
Frequently Asked Question about Family Therapy
We know that when you are trying to find a Sterling family therapist, you likely have many questions. Below, we have some of the most common questions we get from clients.
Who should I bring to family therapy?
This is a great question because you may not be sure if you should bring your children. You may be nervous to have children in your therapy sessions depending on the ages, but children bring in a level of honesty and vulnerability that you may not be expecting. We tailor our therapy sessions to the individual groups. If you also find that you need individual therapy in addition to family therapy, please let us know.
How often will I hear “how does that make you feel?”
For some, this may seem like a dreaded question. However, when you are trying to find a family therapist in Sterling, VA, you may learn that you will hear it more than you thought. The truth is, we want to know how situations make you feel so that you can learn from them and grow.
How honest should we be in family therapy?
Please, be honest! If you only give your family therapist surface level problems and issues, how will you expect any forward movement to happen? As you try to find a Sterling, VA family therapist, you may think you can get away with the bare minimum. However, think about why you are doing this in the first place. You get out what you put in. When you are raw and honest, you and your family can gain a lot of understanding with each other.
How to Find a Family Therapist
If you need to find a family therapist in Sterling VA, ask your family physician for a referral. You could also call your health insurance company and ask to see a list of family therapists. If you have friends that you know saw a family therapist in the past, don’t hesitate to ask them for recommendations.
A skilled therapist can help you and your family members come to terms with your issues and teach you how to communicate more constructively with one another. If you and your family members are having problems, you should find a family therapist in Sterling, VA at Lindsey Hoskins & Associates.
Drug Addiction and the Family
It is well documented that the nation is dealing with a drug epidemic. Drug addiction can affect anyone, no matter what the age, gender, or economic background. Young people, especially, are at risk of becoming addicted to drugs. Addiction not only affects the addict, but can also have a significant impact on the addict’s family. Many seek out family counseling to help work through this difficult time. If your child is struggling with addiction, you may want to find a family therapist in Sterling, VA for help.
If Your Child Is Addicted to Drugs
It can be heartbreaking for any parent to watch their child struggle with addiction. Not only do parents feel helpless watching their child ruin all the good in their life, but there is also the terror that their child will suffer a drug overdose and die. When you are dealing with a child who is addicted, a Sterling, VA family therapist offers the following tips:
Confront your child about their drug use: It is not uncommon when someone in a family has an addiction for that addition to be treated as an unspoken secret. Instead, parents should confront their child – in a non-threatening manner – and voice their concerns about the child’s drug use, as well as the fact they find the child’s behavior unacceptable.
Set boundaries: This is often referred to as a “tough love.” Your child needs to understand what your family’s boundaries are and that there will be consequences if these boundaries are crossed. Some examples include:
· No drug use is acceptable.
· Verbal and/or physical abuse from your child will not be allowed.
· Any of your child’s friends who you know are also drug users are not welcomed in your home.
· Insist your child remain active in their recovery program, including participating in therapy and 12-step program meetings.
Do not enable your child’s addition: Unfortunately, people who are addicts are very adept at manipulation. They will make all kinds of promises, including getting treatment if you will just give them the one thing they are asking help with. This includes financial help. Do not give them money. If your child lives on their own, do not give them money to pay bills. Instead, pay the bills directly, buy them groceries, but never give them the cash. At some point, you may even reconsider paying these bills. Although this is your child and you don’t want them to go hungry or have their electric shut off, there are some addicts who will only get sober if they hit rock bottom and lose everything. Enabling the addict just prolongs the inevitable.
Call Our Office Today
If your child is struggling with an addiction or is in treatment or recovery, there is much healing that they and the family will need to do. Find a family therapist in Sterling, VA like Lindsey Hoskins & Associates to help with this process.