FAMILIES & PARENTING
RECLAIM YOUR LIFE,
RECLAIM YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
RECLAIM YOUR RELATIONSHIPS
LISA LAVELLE, LCSW
FAMILY THERAPY AND PARENTING
RECLAIM THE JOY OF PARENTING
Anxieties, depression, behavioral problems within the family: All may signal a larger, familial problem and may serve as warning that the coping mechanisms that you have developed as a family are no longer working.
RAISING TEENS, YOU CAN SURVIVE!
Raising teens can be a challenge for any relationship or individual, no matter how strong. I am here to assure you that not only can you move through this stage in a healthy and resilient way but also that you and your partner can develop a more meaningful relationship as allies in your parenting.
I am particularly passionate about working with families with adolescents and am confident that I can be effective with your family in this area.
Acting out and behavioral problems, both at home and in school, are serious issues that can affect you and your partner, your other children and the child who is demonstrating behavioral issues. You, as a couple, may feel helpless and even rejected by this child whom you love so deeply, unable to comprehend this "new" behavior and siblings may be experiencing jealously at the attention, however negative. This is normal and expected, however, I can help you and your family:
- Identify positive methods for changing your child's behavior both at home and school
- Cope with frustrations, conflict and consequences of his or her behavior
- Learn ways to help your child manage his or her behavior
So what is happening here? Adolescent children with the behavioral problem are simply in a developmental stage in which they are trying to find their center and some children have more difficulty with this than others. While they need your guidance, they instinctively must act out (and even push you away) in order to make the coming separation more palatable for you both, to explore their own boundaries, and to be able to stand on their own. They must learn their own strengths and push through their limitations. This is human nature.
Understanding that development stage and changing your perspective to this "new" behavior is key to helping your child gain his or her center and helping them become the person you know they can be.
ALL FOR ONE, ONE FOR ALL
In family systems therapy, we believe that the individuals within a family are only as healthy as the whole family system. Complex interactions are present within any family, made all the more challenging by the emotions that exist between the family members. Instead of focusing on the "problem" member of the family, system therapy focuses on the system (family) as a whole to discover how emotions and each individuals experience within the family has shaped their perceptions. One member of a family who is suffering - parents, kids, even extended family, can have a profound effect on everyone within the family.
As in individual therapy, a wide array of issues may be treated in family therapy; just a small sample of which, include:
- Conflicts within the marriage that affect the children
- Behavioral or school problems of the children
- Issues between siblings
- Serious addiction like alcoholism
- Mental disorders such as depression or anxiety
- Coping the with impact of an illness on family relationships and how those relationships impact the illness
SPECIALTY AREAS IN FAMILY THERAPY AND PARENTING
I offer family intensive therapy as a specialty. If time, geographic location or some other challenge prevents you from addressing and resolving family conflicts, my family intensives may be a perfect alternative! Focused blocks of time (typically over a weekend) allow us to work together at a more progressive pace for the time commitments of adult siblings in particular. I have a number of clients who visit my New York office with family members traveling in for this progressive, and effective, program.
My areas of specialty include:
- Reclaiming the joy of parenting!
- Parenting children and adolescents
- Resolving family conflicts
