Parent-Adult Child Relationship Therapy in OC
Also For Parent-Teen Relationships!
“Every time I try to talk to my child, they get mad.”
“I know my parents love me, but sometimes they can be really hurtful and then don’t know how to apologize or validate my feelings.”
“We were so close when they were young, but now my child is avoiding me.”
“My parents don’t respect my boundaries, and they think I am being mean when I try to enforce them.”
“My kid keeps using the word boundaries which I don’t understand. They don’t like the way I apologize and they get their feelings hurt no matter what I say. I don’t know what to do anymore.”
“I know my parents would do anything for me, but I want to feel emotionally safe with them too.”
“My child is the most important person in my life, I just want to feel close to them again.”
Does any of this resonate for you?
Young adult and teen children’s knowledge about communication and mental health used to come primarily from their parents. Now, it comes from family, social media, internet research, peers, and therapists. There is often a gap between what parents believe is normal and what children believe. Parents with the best of intentions can accidentally make children feel dismissed, unseen, unheard, or ashamed. And children, aware of their feelings and needs, can have high expectations and rigid boundaries leading to parents feeling not good enough, abandoned, or misunderstood.
Fear of hurting loved ones’ feelings and fear of getting hurt often prevent families from fully sharing their thoughts and feelings with one another. Or perhaps they share, but in self-protective ways. When communication is rooted in fear, anger, or even desperation, instead of vulnerability there is a greater chance of disconnection and less likelihood of repair.
Therapy helps people learn more about themselves. As people increase their self-understanding, their self-compassion often grows. And as self-compassion grows, they can develop a greater capacity to feel and express their feelings. And with this often comes an increased ability to listen and validiate when others are sharing vulnerably with them. Therapy can help people have more hard conversations in ways that are productive increasing understanding and closeness in family relationships.
If what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working and you’re ready to try something different (even if it is uncomfortable) to improve your relationship with the people you love, this is an invitation to reach out and see how I can support you with the process.
Parent-Child Relationship Therapy Options
Family Therapy
The family relationship is the client
Parents and child/children attend sessions
$275 per 75-min session
Couples Therapy
Parents are the clients
Therapist may consult with the couple’s child/children or their therapists
Therapist may invite children into session with parents on occasion
$250 per 60-minute session
Individual Therapy
One parent is the client
Therapist may consult with the parent’s children or children’s therapists
Therapist may invite children into session with their parent on occasion
$225 per 45-minute session