Family Therapy
Family therapy at Hearts Aligned Therapy brings family members together to address conflict, improve communication, and strengthen their relationships. Steven Makulinski, LMFT uses structural and systemic family therapy approaches to help families understand how their interaction patterns contribute to problems and how to create healthier dynamics. Family therapy addresses issues such as parent-child conflicts, blended family challenges, sibling rivalry, family transitions, grief, behavioral issues in children and adolescents, and the impact of mental health conditions on the family system.
What to Expect
What Is Family Therapy?
Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy that treats the family as a system rather than focusing on any single individual. At Hearts Aligned Therapy in Rockwall, TX, Steven Makulinski works with families to identify and change unhealthy patterns of interaction that contribute to conflict, misunderstanding, and emotional pain. Family therapy recognizes that each family member's behavior affects and is affected by the other members, and that lasting change requires understanding and shifting the dynamics of the entire system.
How Family Therapy Works at Hearts Aligned Therapy
Family therapy sessions at Hearts Aligned Therapy typically include multiple family members, though the specific participants may vary depending on the issues being addressed. Sessions are structured to give each family member an opportunity to share their perspective in a safe environment. Steven Makulinski uses structural and strategic family therapy techniques to help families identify communication breakdowns, clarify roles and boundaries, address unresolved conflicts, and develop new, healthier ways of interacting. Sessions are typically 60 to 75 minutes.
Common Issues Addressed in Family Therapy
Families seek therapy at Hearts Aligned Therapy for many reasons including ongoing parent-child conflicts, adjustment to divorce or remarriage, blended family challenges, sibling rivalry and competition, a family member's mental health condition affecting the household, grief and loss experienced by the family, behavioral problems in children or adolescents, communication breakdowns, major life transitions such as relocation or retirement, and managing the impact of chronic illness or disability on the family.
Family Therapy for Blended Families
Blended families face unique challenges as multiple family systems merge into one. Hearts Aligned Therapy provides specialized support for blended families navigating stepparent-stepchild relationships, co-parenting dynamics with ex-spouses, differing household rules and expectations, loyalty conflicts, and the gradual process of building new family bonds. Steven Makulinski helps blended families develop realistic expectations, establish effective communication patterns, and create a shared family identity that honors each member's history.
Including Children and Adolescents in Family Therapy
Steven Makulinski has specialized training in working with families that include children and adolescents. Family therapy sessions are adapted to be age-appropriate and engaging for younger family members. Children and teens often experience family conflict deeply but may lack the vocabulary to express their feelings effectively. Family therapy provides them with a safe space to be heard and helps parents understand their children's perspective. Activities, structured conversations, and creative techniques may be used to facilitate participation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ready to Get Started?
Take the first step toward healing. Schedule a session to discuss how family therapy can help you.