A Christian counselor will serve as a mediator in family counseling sessions. The counselor’s job is to offer unbiased guidance based on biblical principles to guide the family into solutions that benefit the whole group. Compared to the chaos and emotions you may have faced when trying to manage family problems on your own, working with a counselor can bring peace and relief to your family situation.
Your counselor will work to open the lines of communication and understanding between all family members. Each family member will be encouraged to openly share hurts and fears, as well as hopes for the future.
The counselor will guide your family into reestablishing trust and rebuilding bonds. You’ll gain practical skills on how to improve your relationships with each family member. The counselor will treat you as a unit in need of healing and hope.
Here are some of the common dynamics a counselor will address during family counseling sessions.
Dynamics Between Parents
The way that spouses interact with each other has an impact on the entire family. Ongoing conflict between parents can erode the foundations of the family. Your counselor will help you explore the ways you were affected as children, so you can heal any issues that have carried over into your marriage. Ending these harmful patterns and beginning healthy relationship dynamics can set a better pattern for your children’s future.
Parent-Child Dynamics
Unhealthy dynamics between a child and parent can wreak havoc in the family system. Today’s children are facing greater academic and social pressures, which parents may not fully understand. If a child feels unsupported or unloved by his or her parents, other issues can erupt. However, family counseling can help you recognize the behavior patterns that are contributing to a lack of peace between children and their parents. You can work through these issues in a family counseling setting.
Extended Family Dynamics
Your immediate family may be engaged in conflict with your extended family of grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins. Unfortunately, extended family members can create disruptions of peace even in a healthy nuclear family. A family counselor can help you recognize the dynamics at play, learn to set healthy boundaries, and build clearer channels of communication.
Grief Counseling
If one family member or a family pet dies, the whole family suffers. Many of us aren’t well equipped in handling grief. Through family counseling, all members can heal faster. Parents can feel more supported while handling their own grief while caring for their children. Children can gain comfort and a greater understanding of the situation in therapy. Your counselor will help you all heal from the hurt and forge a new path forward.
Major Transitions
When you have a big transition in your family, even if it is a positive one, family members may struggle to catch up. Career changes, moving, having babies, or caring for sick or elderly family members can all impact different family members in different ways. A family counselor can help each family member find a voice for their concerns and assist the family in reaching new compromises for the betterment of all.
Health Issues
A prolonged health problem with one or more family members can disrupt family dynamics. A traumatic event, chronic illness, or disability can rearrange everything for the family and create big emotions that are difficult to process. Your counselor will help you sort out the emotions you are feeling and prioritize what matters most.
You can also discuss fears, doubts, and questions about faith issues with no judgment or condemnation. The family counselor will help you work toward acceptance, increase your quality of family interactions, heal from painful emotions, and find peace in God’s comfort.
Spiritual Development
Family members are often not on the same page about their spiritual beliefs or practices. This can lead to frustration and disagreements, which threaten peace and invite division. However, a Christian family counselor can help all family members respect one another and work together for a harmonious plan of spiritual expression.
Each family member will have the opportunity to voice their concerns and wishes. Your counselor will offer ideas for strengthening the family’s spiritual bond through prayer, Bible study, and family devotions. You’ll also discover ways to grow your faith with spiritual disciplines, as both individuals and a group.
Handling Addiction
One family member’s addiction affects every other person in the family in negative ways. Each person plays a role in interacting with the addict. This is quite common, but hard to see when you are a member of this type of family. Your counselor will uncover the dynamics at play in an addict’s family relationships. You can learn how to stop contributing to the problems as well as how you can hold the addict accountable for their actions.
If the addict receives treatment, each family member will benefit from learning how to break the dysfunctional relationship patterns. Whether the addiction is substance abuse, food addiction, sex or porn addiction, gambling, or other destructive behaviors, there is hope for you in family counseling.
Family Christian Counseling for You
If your family needs hope and healing that seems out of reach, you can find it through family counseling sessions with a Christian counselor. Family counseling is for members of all ages who are willing to meet at session times. The counselor will treat your family as a unit in need of healing and may recommend individual counseling for separate issues.
If you need a qualified and compassionate Christian counselor for your family problems, contact our offices today to set up your first free appointment. We have worked with many other families to guide them toward the hope and healing available in God, and we’re ready and willing to help you too.
