Family Counseling & Therapy

Solving problems & acquiring skills
Without getting stuck in negative patterns & destructive labels

Family Issues
  • Communication difficulties
  • Parenting difficulties
  • Authority issues
  • Values & expectations conflicts
  • Parent-child conflicts
  • Sibling conflicts & bullying
  • Marital strife
  • Lack of family unity
  • Blended family difficulties
  • Divorce & separation difficulties
  • Mental health problems
  • Emotional difficulties
  • Depression
  • Anxiety & panic disorders
  • Illness & chronic illness
  • Substance abuse
  • Alcoholism
  • Addiction – internet, devices
  • Pornography
  • Financial issues
  • Grief & loss
  • Academic concerns
  • P.T.S.D.
  • LGBTQ issues
  • Emotional abuse
  • Physical abuse
  • Sexual abuse
  • Frustration
  • Anger & rage
  • Religious conflicts
  • Aliyah difficulties
Children & Teens Issues
  • Anxiety & depression
  • Behavior problems
  • Worry & fears
  • Nightmares
  • Trauma & abuse
  • Learning difficulties
  • School difficulties
  • Poor communication
  • Low motivation
  • Low self-confidence
  • Poor social skills
  • Low self esteem
  • Smoking, alcohol, drugs
  • Addictions
  • Pornography
  • A.D.D., A.D.H.D. & O.D.D.
  • Obsessive compulsive
  • Asperger’s
  • Acting out
  • Rebelliousness & anger
  • Coping with illness
  • Coping with disability
  • Bereavement
  • Enuresis
  • Encopresis  
Introduction

Helping families, children, teens and couples  has been a focus of my work for more than thirty-five years. I received my California license as a Marriage, Family & Child Therapist in 1981, and licensed as a supervisor and trainer of interns and therapists. I was the Senior Supervisor of the Westside Counseling Center, in Santa Monica, California from 1984 – 1988, and was a supervisor for Universities as well. (Please refer to my C.V. for a complete list of my licenses and professional experience).

Please feel welcome to read the many endorsements from my colleagues and universities. 

My approach to Family Counseling & Family Therapy

My interventions are focused, clear, positive, interactive and caring. I help my clients to acquire the understanding and skills needed to solve problems and achieve goals. I do my best to provide interventions that are brief, effective, and lasting. My treatment approach helps increase self-esteem, healthy functioning, general happiness, and satisfaction for the family.

Family counseling – to be really helpful – requires training, understanding, skill, experience, and creativity. Good family therapy can be transformational for the family and its members. It provides opportunities to resolve conflicts, heal emotional pain, acquire skills, clarify values and appropriate expectations, learn to increase understanding, respect and appreciation and achieve personal and family goals.

Sometimes, all that is needed is a brief intervention to resolve a crisis or solve a problem, followed by a little coaching now and then to keep things on track and make minor adjustments.

There are a variety of available options when doing family therapy, including working with:

  1. the whole family
  2. individual family members
  3. just the parents
  4. parents with some or all of the children
  5. a variety of combinations of family members (during specific sessions).

The decision of how to work is based on what is appropriate and helpful, and who wishes to participate.

I often provide what is considered family therapy even when working with an individual client, by helping my client to relate healthfully to family difficulties, and resolve family issues. I also help my client to facilitate positive change in the family dynamics.

Of course confidentiality is strictly respected and observed (except in cases where the law requires otherwise, e.g. someone is in danger of specific kinds of harm).

I have plenty of professional and personal experience working with a wide variety of families, including families from different ethnic, religious, political, geographic, cultural backgrounds, as well as blended families, step families, and multicultural families.  

Parenting advice & guidance can really help improve the family dynamics and happiness

Often, just a little practical guidance, and the learning and utilization of specific effective parenting skills can greatly reduce the anxiety and frustration for both the parent(s) and the children, and increase individual and family harmony and satisfaction.

Good parenting increases self-esteem, healthy functioning, general happiness, and life satisfaction for both parents and children.

Additional Information about my professional experience working with kids, parents & families regarding issues of education and learning:

I have also worked as a school teacher, school counselor, school psychologist, educational consultant, trainer of educators, executive director of a school and am a Fellow of the Lookstein Senior Educators Program, Bar-Ilan. I have also trained teachers and principals for the Israel Department of Education.

Feel welcome to call me to ask any questions that you may have and to learn how I can help you and your family.

Additional information on each topic will be available
as the website is being developed

Please feel welcome to call me if you have any questions regarding how I work, and
how I would approach helping you achieve your goals.

Additional Family Services
I help family members with:
Additional Resources

Marriage Counseling Services