What is Family Therapy
Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy designed to support change in the patterns that shape family relationships.
Rather than treating difficulties as belonging to one person alone, family therapy examines how stress, conflict, roles, and communication operate across the family system and how those patterns impact the wellbeing of each family member.
The central focus is improving relational functioning in ways that promote safety, stability, and healthier connection.
Family Therapy in a Family Court Context
I specialize in family therapy for families involved in high conflict, high litigation family court matters. Therapy in a litigated context is meaningfully different from therapy in non-litigated families.
When there is active litigation, parties often arrive with entrenched narratives, heightened mistrust, and strong incentives to defend positions. Children may experience loyalty binds and pressure to align with one parent’s perspective. The therapy can become vulnerable to being pulled into the legal process, including requests for documentation, testimony, or opinions about parenting outcomes. For these reasons, family therapy in a litigated context requires familiarity with the family court environment and the ability to maintain a clear therapeutic frame, strong boundaries, and a child centered focus. The treatment is structured to reduce role confusion, limit escalation, and keep the work clinically grounded.
When Family Therapy Can Be Performed
Because these cases often involve complex legal and relational dynamics, I accept family therapy matters only when the scope is clear from the start. This typically includes a court Order or written legal agreement that defines who will participate, the treatment goals, and any expectations regarding communication with other professionals. A defined scope reduces confusion, limits later disputes, and supports a stable treatment process.
My Role and Structure
In family therapy, my role is to provide treatment with a clear clinical frame and a child centered focus. My job is to facilitate productive conversations, identify the interactional patterns that keep the family stuck, and help family members practice new ways of relating that are more regulated, respectful, and developmentally appropriate for the child. Throughout the process, I maintain boundaries that support forward movement and reduce the risk that sessions become another forum for litigation.
Once I am retained, I review relevant documents provided by counsel that relate to my role and the treatment context. I typically begin with individual parent interviews to understand the family history, the sources of conflict, and each parent’s goals and concerns. I then meet with the child or children to understand their experience and developmental needs. Based on this information, I develop a clinical conceptualization of the problem and outline next steps with the parents.
Treatment is planned intentionally. Each session has a defined objective, and decisions about who participates, at what pace, and in what sequence are made with a clear clinical rationale. Sessions may include the full family at times, while others may involve specific dyads or caregiver only work, depending on what is most likely to support the therapeutic process. Family therapy does not automatically mean weekly appointments. Frequency and structure are determined by the needs of the case and the clinical situation as it evolves.
Working in Litigated Matters
When therapy occurs during active litigation, clarity about boundaries, confidentiality, and communication is essential at the start of treatment. I review confidentiality and its limits, and I review the scope of the work as defined in the court Order or written legal agreement. I also set expectations for how requests for documentation or communication will be handled so there is minimal confusion about my role. When the court Order or written agreement includes specific requirements, those parameters guide what I can provide. The goal is to keep the work clinically focused and reduce the risk that therapy becomes another arena for the legal dispute.
My Clinical Approach
My approach integrates family systems therapy and structural family therapy. Together, these models support a structured, child centered approach to improving how the family functions, especially when conflict and litigation have destabilized relationships.
Family systems therapy, grounded in Bowen’s model, views individuals as inseparable from the relationships that shape them. It helps families understand how patterns such as emotional reactivity, distance, over-functioning and under-functioning, and triangulation develop and repeat over time, especially under stress. A key goal is supporting clearer thinking, healthier boundaries, and more regulated connection.
Structural family therapy, associated with Salvador Minuchin, focuses on the organization of the family system. It examines roles, boundaries, alliances, and hierarchies, and it uses active, practical interventions to improve the family structure. This approach is especially useful when conflict has disrupted parental leadership, boundaries are diffuse or rigid, or children have been pulled into adult dynamics.
Insurance and Fee Structure
I do not participate with any health insurance networks. Family therapy services are provided on an out-of-pocket basis, and I do not submit claims, negotiate with insurance companies, or assist with seeking reimbursement. These matters are handled under a retainer model. An initial retainer is required before services begin, and all time spent on the case is billed against that retainer. As the retainer is spent down, additional replenishments will be requested to continue services. For current rates and retainer requirements, please contact the practice directly.