Family Counseling

Counseling and Anxiety Management Therapy for Families

Contemporary parenting is challenging. In the Internet Age, it can also be isolating, as parents may compare their children and family to idealized social media versions of peer families. If left unchecked, anxiety can take hold of one’s body and mind with inevitable repercussions on the family system. In working with Eastern Massachusetts children and youth from kindergarten to age 22, Marina Gonzalez-Ang is often approached by parents who have a concern about their child. Sometimes, these struggling parents have identified a challenge, and sometimes they are not quite sure what is going on. Either way, in family therapy, Marina first works with parents to gain a holistic understanding of the family system and any ways in which anxiety may be manipulating that system.

In consulting with parents, Marina draws on—when appropriate—the Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions (SPACE) method developed by Dr. Eli Lebowitz of the Yale Child Study Center, which randomized, controlled clinical trials have determined to be effective. Parents are not “doing something wrong” with their kids. However, they may need help in identifying certain modifications that they and/or their children can adopt to make a significant positive change in the daily patterns of life. With a supportive approach, Marina is often able to help parents realize and implement these game-changing pattern modifications.

In family therapy, Marina is especially skilled in reaching young people on their level – even in a literal sense, often playing with younger children on the ground and interacting in a way that breaks down barriers and fosters the trusting relationship that makes progress possible. By identifying techniques and discussions that are most relevant to the family, Marina helps children and families recognize, reduce, and manage anxiety. She also sets realistic expectations, mindful that some degree of anxiety is part of life, and all people – both children and adults – must learn that it is okay to be uncomfortable at times.

Working with Marina, families can learn to move past negative cycles of blame, guilt, and stress and toward more positive responses such as appropriate validation and support. Change can be uncomfortable, but it is also how we grow. When the mental health of children and adults is considered in a holistic way, accounting for the interwoven nature of family dynamics, rewarding results are not only possible in family therapy, but likely.

If your family is ready to make a positive change, please contact Marina now.