Whole Family Psychotherapy
Family Therapy & Family Counselling
“Things are really hard in our family right now, and we aren’t sure how to move forward”
You are not alone! Many parents find themselves out of their depth at one point or another as they raise their family – when our child is struggling, it impacts the whole family system, often creating increased stress and conflict. We deeply love our children, but may not have the tools or knowledge needed to improve the situation or manage the difficulties on our own.
If our relationship with our co-parent is strained, we will often start to see that our children pick up on this stress – perhaps we start to see behavioural concerns show up at school or home, or notice our child is withdrawing or not themself. This can be really hard for families to navigate constructively without some guidance and external support.
Or perhaps your family has experienced a significant loss and is grieving together, and you are uncertain how to process your pain and move forward. You might feel unsure how to get your needs met and how to understand the differences in grief processing amongst yourselves. Perhaps in your pain conflict has arisen and is creating strain and distance and you want to find a way to heal together and manage the challenges you are facing more productively.
Families are beautiful, messy, intense, and come with a lot of history – with the right support and guidance, you can shift the dynamics, learn to communicate and work together in more constructive and loving ways.
You don’t have to figure this out on your own; we can help. Our online family therapy makes professional support accessible to families across Ontario, allowing you to participate in sessions from the comfort of your home.
Common Family Challenges That Benefit From Family Counselling
The 12 Most Common Things We Hear from folks seeking Family Therapy
It’s so painful to see our child struggle! Perhaps they are struggling with mood/ anxiety issues or ADHD, or school/daycare has raised behavioural concerns. Many parents find themselves feeling unsure how best to help, and as tensions run high, conflict arises and the whole family system can feel pretty unsteady.
Families go through ups and downs, and children have some stages of development that are harder than others – we often hear from parents that they are in unfamiliar territory and need guidance and support.
It can take a heavy emotional and physical toll to raise a child with special needs, and the hardship of juggling multiple added stressors on top of day to day family life can create tension and negatively impact mood and relationships.
When a family system has been under stress for a long time, it’s very common for family members, parents and caregivers especially, to find themselves in emotional or physical burnout. As a result, they become less able to cope and can start to feel like they are in crisis.
The teenage years are a really tricky developmental stage, and for many families, the parent/teen relationship can feel strained and the whole dynamic of the family can feel off as a result.
We often speak with folks who, for various reasons, carry too much – we hear from overwhelmed grandparents who provide intensive support to their grandchildren and find it negatively impacting their quality of life. We hear from burnt out parents who carry all or most of the mental and physical load of caring for the children and home on their own.
Many grieving families will contend with additional unforeseen stressors in their grief journey – conflict can arise in family systems when each family member grieves differently, and when roles and responsibilities are blurred as a family reorganizes itself after loss.
All families have some degree of conflict, whether spoken or not – we hear from family members who want to make change to old patterns, perhaps a lack of boundaries, or a certain style of communication that isn’t helpful – but they don’t know how to raise their concerns safely and constructively in the family system.
Sibling relationships are complicated and living with ongoing conflict between your children can feel incredibly exhausting and painful. Typically, when there is stress in one relationship within the family system, the whole family system is thrown off – this stress can increase conflict all around and cause the home environment to feel less secure for everyone.
Family Therapy & Counselling Services Throughout Ontario
We can support your family with:
Supporting a child with mental health/substance use challenges
Familial grief & loss
Intergenerational family dynamics
Supporting a child with ADHD or other neurodivergence
Helping your child navigate academic stressors
Role stress and caregiver burnout
Improving emotion regulation skills
Supporting your child with social challenges
Challenges in blended families
Managing your child’s behavioural challenges
Family conflict
Co-parenting strain
Trauma & PTSD within the family
Difficulty adjusting to change
Working through separation/divorce
About Us
Why Whole Family Psychotherapy?
We believe that families are deeply interconnected and that when the family system is struggling for whatever reason, each member of the family is negatively impacted.
When we support the whole family, we are supporting the foundation, and with a steady base, each member of the family can thrive more easily. We also understand that families are some of the most complex and challenging places to work through difficulty – we often have years, if not decades of entrenched patterns impacting the present. We deeply care about our family relationships, so our emotional reactions to difficulty tend to be intense.
At Whole Family Psychotherapy, we begin by building a solid, trusting relationship with you and each member of your family, to help everyone feel safe to explore the current challenges. We then support each of you to get in touch with your inner world, understand your emotions, and build skills to communicate your needs and feelings with those around you.
In this process each member of the family system can begin to expand their ability to understand one another, feel heard and understood, and build skills to be able to relate differently to one another.
When your family works with our team, they will have access to an experienced family therapist with the specific skills and training required to help you make progress.
It can be hard to let someone else in, but often, the outside perspective and guidance of a trained family therapist can make all the difference.
We help your family feel whole.
Our Team Has Been Featured In
Therapists Offering Family Therapy
Our counselling team provides in-person family therapy in Waterloo and virtual faily therapy across Ontario. Browse our team profiles below to find the right therapist near you.
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions about Family Therapy
Gone are the days when virtual therapy was seen as inferior to in-person therapy – extensive research conducted on virtual therapy throughout the pandemic showed us how valid an approach this is. Over the past several years, virtual therapy clients have also shared their positive experiences with us; particularly the impact of having therapy be so much more flexible and accessible when our time is so valuable and hard to come by.
Benefits of virtual therapy:
- Allows you to be in your environment, where you are most comfortable.
- Removes the need for child care – babies and young children can be cared for or sleeping at home while a parent receives the support they need.
- Removes the travel time, making appointments easier to schedule for busy parents.
Allows couples/family members to join a session from multiple locations.
If you feel deeply drawn to in-person therapy, we see you – and we do offer limited in person services in Waterloo and Markham Ontario for those who aren’t open to trying virtual – but we always encourage folks to at least TRY working virtually – you might be surprised at how much you enjoy it!
This might look a little different for every family depending on the situation and family constellation. With that said, most folks who are dealing with family conflict or stress will benefit from meeting weekly or bi-weekly initially, to help build momentum in the work and get everyone starting to feel better more quickly. Family therapy can be complex and varied, and therefore might take anywhere from 8-24 sessions or more depending on how long standing and complicated the challenges may be. You will discuss this all at the start of therapy, and on an ongoing basis with your therapist – who will take into consideration your time and financial resources to make sure the treatment makes sense for you.
If you are doing virtual therapy, each person can join the session from a different device, or you can join together – whatever makes the most sense for you.
It is not uncommon for one or more individuals in a family system to be uninterested or unsure about doing family therapy work. It’s important that they are provided an opportunity to speak to their concerns about this, and given space to engage in it or not. Offering ultimatums to family members in an attempt to convince them to do this work is not often helpful. You might offer the individual an opportunity to book a free consult with the therapist 1:1 to discuss their concerns, or speak to them about why this feels important to you as a way to encourage participation. There is lots of work that can be done even if family members are missing.
Most extended health care plans do cover the work of our Therapists, who are all Registered Social Workers – you might want to double check with your Insurance provider to be certain, however. Family sessions are one hour and range between $165-$185/hour. You will be emailed a receipt after every session which you can submit for reimbursement if you have benefit coverage.
Whole Family Psychotherapy requires 24 business hours notice for appointment cancellations or changes. (The clinic admin business hours are Monday 8am through Saturday 4pm). This cancellation policy is out of respect for your therapist’s time, and out of consideration for other clients waiting to be booked. If you cancel with less than 24 business hours notice, the full session fee will be charged to the credit card on file.
As your family progresses in therapy, you may notice:
- A greater sense of peace in your home/family system
- Feeling like you’re on the same team with your co-parent
- You feel less stress and overwhelmed day to day
- More confidence in your ability to navigate conflict
- A greater sense of security in your important relationships
- Increased sense of connection within the family
- A better understanding of one another
- Increased confidence in your parenting approach and decisions
- A deeper understanding of how to support your child
- Feeling connected and supported on your healing/grief journey together
- You can better understand your loved ones’ experiences and relational needs
- Greater balance where each family members’ needs are seen and prioritized more equitably
- Improved family dynamics, such as clearer boundaries and more productive communication patterns
How To Get Started
Book Online
You can book an appointment directly online using our secure booking portal. Select the therapist you’d like to connect with, create a profile, and select a time that works for you!
... or message us!
Get In Touch
How To Get Started
We’re here to help you find the right fit for you and your family. Please complete the simple form below and our Intake Coordinator will be in touch to answer any questions you have and either book you in for a FREE consultation or an appointment.
