If you look at any number of different families, chances are good that you will find the same number of conflicts. While one family may be struggling with marriage infidelity, another may be facing a complete lack of together time based on the way the kids' schedules and the parents' schedules work out. These conflicts do not exist in a vacuum of course, and it's not just one member of the family that will be affected by them. Family counseling is something that can help to resolve conflicts, identify challenges and to develop strategies for bringing the family back together.

Therapists who specialize in providing family counseling understand that every family is a little bit different but that the family unit is important. Because of this, family therapists are able to look at situations objectively and to listen to what's going on for each member of the family. Rather than being biased towards one parent's perspective, family therapists are going to be unbiased and will encourage each member of the family to look at the way others see and feel about the situation.

In part, therefore, family counseling is about time that therapists spend one on one either with a parent or a child learning about his or her perspective on and feelings about a situation. In part too, family counseling is about every member of the family and the counselor sitting down together and opening the lines of communication so that an understanding of different perspectives can start to happen.

Communication is the key to all relationships. Rather than allowing misunderstandings, frustrations and hurts to get in the way, family counseling creates the opportunity for improved communication. With family counseling:

• Parents who are divorcing can develop an understanding of what the kids need and how to be able to continue to co-parent despite their differences.

• Parents who disagree and have different parenting styles can learn to come together as a team;

• When there is a crisis, families can work together to get through it - and learn tools that will help them to better communicate and prevent further conflicts;

• Kids and teens can learn more effective ways for communicating their needs to their parents; and,

• Families can work together to find strategies for getting through the challenges that are bound to come up.

In other words, with family counseling, it is possible for families to understand where they are, to learn more about the perspectives of others in the family and to communicate with one another. Misunderstandings can be resolved. Hurts and frustrations can be healed and the family ties can be strengthened. Perhaps more importantly, with family counseling it is possible to change the way that things have always been so that the family unit can grow together rather than continuing to drift apart.

Simply put, when your family is struggling with scheduling conflicts and communication, family counseling can help to bring everyone to a place where they can talk, express their feelings and focus on overcoming the obstacles that come between them. As a result, the family unit can be strengthened and everyone can benefit. acp13243546ch