5 Reasons Why Family Counseling is Important

Contrary to what TV sitcoms would have us believe, most of life’s little hiccups aren’t neatly resolved within a 30-minute time span, and there is no such thing as the perfect family. All of us face challenges, and all of us struggle with family relationships at times. Let’s face it, we might love our families, but we don’t always like them. Fortunately, there are resources available to help us through those difficult moments.

At Simi Psychological Group, we offer family counseling, including therapy for teens and children, that will help keep your family running smoothly. Here are 5 reasons family counseling is important and 5 ways in which our caring professionals at Thousand Oaks can best support you.

1. Family counseling helps clarify and establish healthy boundaries.

Boundaries are simply what separates one thing from another. It’s easy to understand the concept of physical boundaries…Who do you allow in your space? How close do you want to be when talking to someone? Are you comfortable with physical touch? In families, physical boundaries include things like rules on open versus closed doors, how much physical affection is shown and in what ways, and how often are you in shared spaces, for example.

But emotional boundaries are sometimes more difficult to understand. Emotional boundaries have to do with protecting emotional energy. Emotional boundaries differentiate your feelings from those of your family members and vice versa.
Emotional boundaries relate to how thoughts and feelings are acknowledged, respected, and validated within a family.

Healthy emotional boundaries are necessary in order to establish emotional safety within relationships.

Family counseling helps provide a safe place to talk about and explore boundaries within your family, acknowledge what’s working, and address what’s not.

2. Family counseling leads to better communication skills.

Something that seems incredibly simple, but is actually not, is the concept of communication. Communication is so much more than our spoken words. In fact, communications expert, Paul Watzlawick famously stated, “One cannot not communicate,” meaning that communication in one form or another is always taking place.
Communication within families, as within all relationships, includes both verbal and non-verbal communication. Verbally, the words that are chosen, the tone of voice used, and the volume at which those words are delivered all have a huge impact on the interaction.

Non-verbal communication includes things like eye contact, facial expression, posture, body language, touch, and physical space.

Similarly, there are a number of different communication styles, including passive, aggressive, passive-aggressive, and assertive.

Simi Psychological Group offers family counseling in Simi Valley to support you and your family as you navigate this complex world of communication. Learning the ins and outs of healthy communication helps reduce family conflict and brings your family together. Our qualified and compassionate psychologists offer family therapy and therapy for teens and children to strengthen the family unit and help you live your best lives together.

3. Family counseling provides tools and resources to overcome challenges.

Life is full of challenges and all families struggle from time to time. Family counseling is especially useful to address those particularly difficult situations, such as separation or divorce, loss of a family member or loved one, disruptions within the family unit, moving, times of transition within the family, those very troublesome teen years (note: contact us for more information on therapy for teens near you), addiction, and whatever other family situations you may be facing.

Our psychologists in Thousand Oaks are there for you and we get it. We will walk alongside you, without judgment, and provide the tools and resources to help you get to the other side of the struggle.

4. Family counseling promotes healthy family dynamics.

Whether in times of crisis or just everyday stressors, family counseling can be an important part of understanding how you and your loved ones can relate to one another and connect in the most loving and healthy way. Sometimes even making just a few small changes can bring about huge rewards.
Often short-term, family counseling may include any combination of family members, from the parental unit, to one parent and one child, to both/multiple parents and children. No matter who is involved, however, the premise of family therapy is that addressing issues within the family or between family members has a ripple effect, allowing the unit as a whole to benefit.

Family members do not function in isolation. What affects one family member, affects all. At Simi Psychological Group in Simi Valley, we believe in the importance of working with the entire family to create real change.

5.Family counseling improves relationships and encourages healthy emotional expression.

Family counseling has lasting positive effects on you and your family members. Our experienced, caring, and compassionate therapists and psychologists at Simi Psychological Group will help you develop and maintain habits that lead to harmonious, healthy, and functional relationships.

We want you to know that the support we offer doesn’t just start and stop in therapy, but that we empower parents to help their children and teens at home, and empower partners to maintain the close, intimate, emotional connection that drew you to one another in the first place.

Life is unpredictable, and the demands on your time individually and as a family are never-ending. It’s easy to feel discouraged. And when there is turmoil, it’s incredibly frustrating to know you, your child, or your family are on the wrong path. You care, you’re invested, and you want the best for your family, yet you’re not sure how to make the changes that are going to help you find direction.

For family counseling in Simi Valley, look no further than Simi Psychological Group, where our dedicated team of professionals understands that you and your family deserve to live your best lives. We know each of you has dreams and passions inside you that are within your grasp, and we are here to help you achieve them.

Our team of licensed therapists In Thousand Oaks is here to support you, no matter what your therapeutic endeavor. At the Simi Psychological Group, we treat anxiety, depression, trauma, and more! Reach out today for a free consultation at (805) 842-1994.