We all know the importance of family. Our family experiences set the tone and serve as the gauge for future relationships in our lives. At Eunoia Counseling, we view the family system as a complex web of interconnected relationships that are continually influencing each other.
These ongoing influences create patterns of communication and profoundly impact the nature of the relationships in the family. Sometimes the road bumps that inevitably occur in life can disrupt the dynamics in a family and cause turmoil and stress. If your family environment is feeling disconnected, hostile, or unsupportive, our skilled therapists can help.
We can visualize family bonds like trees. The roots represent your family of origin, and your branches are family members who appear independent from one another yet are all interdependently linked to the tree trunk. Similar to tree roots, your family roots can serve as anchors to strengthen the rest of your life. Note that your family of origin is not always your parents and siblings; it is whoever you were closest to when you were developing in childhood. Through these foundational bonds, people learn about love, trust, and security.
Your roots lay the foundation of your value system, and they shape your worldview. This doesn’t mean you adopt everything you learned in your family of origin, but it means that it will influence you in one way or another, even in adulthood. Your roots also impact your emotional, mental, and spiritual health later in life. In childhood, you learn about how to interact with others and how to respond to life’s joys and hardships. You learn coping skills and resilience.
But sometimes a tree’s root system soil lacks appropriate nutrients, suffers trauma from pavement or pipes, or is damaged from improper trimming. When these things happen, it impacts the life of the entire tree. In the same way, families of origin can lack proper love and nurturing, sustain life-altering traumas, or injure children through accidents or abuse.
Now imagine bringing two people together, who have entirely different root systems in place, to form a new family. It can create storms that include relational conflict and confusion about why you or your partner respond the way you each do to various life events.
Signs That Your Family Therapy Can Benefit Your Family
No matter where you are in the world, it is a universal desire to have a loving and peaceful family life where you feel heard and understood. People desire their families to be their “safe place.” Novelist George A. Moore, said, “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs, and returns home to find it.”
We can’t always have a family that feels safe all the time. Signs that your family could benefit from services at Naperville Family Therapy don’t need to be profound, but can include:
- Strained relationships between family members
- Communication difficulties between family members
- A change in behavior of one or more family members
- Any family members having difficulty functioning like they used to (grades sliding, withdrawing, feelings of hopelessness, etc.)
- Extreme emotions in any family member such as anger or sadness
- Grief after a loss such as an illness or death of a close friend or family member
- Any family member with an addiction
- Life transitions such as divorce, new parenting, or a new empty-nest
- Partner conflict stemming from deception and adultery
- An overall sense of a lack of peace in the home
Pursuing family therapy has the potential to strengthen your family for generations. Rather than a sign of weakness, seeking professional support is a sign of wisdom and strength as you gather the best “nutrients” to keep your family tree flourishing.
Benefits of Naperville Family Therapy at Eunoia Counseling
The main goals associated with family counseling at Naperville Family Therapy are to minimize conflict and strengthen the bond between family members. The family counselor will act as a helpful guide facilitating family members to listen and validate each other’s perspectives so that everyone feels heard. Our counselors also help families take the next steps to implement effective communication and problem-solving skills for future use at home.
It is a beautiful experience to watch a family’s interactions to become more understanding and supportive through time and practice. Families we serve at Eunoia Counseling have successfully learned skills to cope in a healthy way with blended family stressors, high conflict, transition through a divorce, substance abuse, family member mental illness, and other difficulties we discussed here.
We are also available to help guide you past the obstacles that are currently impacting your family. Contact us today. We look forward to partnering with you.
