“The energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard, and valued; when they can give and receive without judgment; and when they derive sustenance and strength from the relationship.”

—Brené Brown

The Families That Therapy Together, Stay Together

If your family is experiencing strain, stress or tension of any kind, it may be time to consider family therapy. Let’s face it. Sometimes being a part of a family can be tough. It doesn’t matter if the family is your biological family, your adopted or blended family, or one that you create. Family is sometimes tough because people are involved. And nothing in this world is more complex than people. And when you put them all in the same house/unit, you don’t always get the picture perfect combinations that are portrayed on 1970’s television shows.

Whatever family means to you, there are moments when communication and connections are broken or lost. Perhaps they were never there at all. And though you feel the weight of their absence, their restoration (or creation) is not impossible. That’s where family therapy and Alicia Beltran & Associates come in.

There’s a family that we provided services for that came in for family therapy that is the embodiment of a 2021 blended family. They were a family of two moms and two kids from previous marriages with men. Neither of their four (combined) children have adapted to the divorces and their moms not being with their fathers, and some of them were not adjusting well to their moms being in relationships with women. There were an assortment of layered and blended concerns that had to be dealt with even before the blended family concerns could be addressed. There were lots of tears, hurt feelings, sharing of truths that stung…but through perseverance and hard work on everyone’s part, we did it. Through months of tough family therapy sessions, we were able to help the children navigate their feelings about their new familial layout, offered all parties tools and guidance in how to negotiate tough conversations within and outside of the home and at the end of our days together, I think we can say that we had a success story to add to our proverbial wall.

We offer support and family therapy for families in crisis, those in need of an impartial listener to navigate tough conversations and dark times in the life cycle of the unit. Some of the more common challenges that we assist families navigating are as follows:

The Brady Bunch provided great entertainment, but a false narrative for what blended family life is like for many families. Meshing children and parents from other relationships is not always a smooth transition. There may be unresolved feelings about the union of the new parents, tension between the now-blended siblings, or even bonding issues between the parents and the children from the other relationship. However tough they are though, they can work – and beautifully. Your family may just need a little help navigating the tough stuff. Family therapy is where the tough stuff gets resolved.

Even in the most amicable separations, a divorce is the finale of a relationship. Not all parties handle the finale well. Sometimes, even adult children have a hard time with the divorce of their parents. When a couple separates, the lives of everyone that was impacted by the union are also now affected by the separation. We’re here to help families deal with the impact – whatever it is. Family therapy is where people can learn to navigate their new roles post-marriage. It’s helpful for all parties involved.

Not everyone is excited about being an empty-nester. Children and young adults leaving home for college, marriage, etc., automatically changes the paradigm for those that remain at home. People are what make a home and when the dynamics of that home change, there are sometimes feelings of loneliness and depression that accompany their absence. We’re here to help your family navigate this new normal in a way that makes sense for you. Family therapy can help.

The death of a loved one is never an easy thing to cope with. Their absence changes you and your family unit – forever. The occasions that would have normally brought you all together are never going to be the same. The how, why and where you celebrate things that are important are not the same. These changes, especially when they’re unexpected but even when they are, require a set of tools that lots of families need help cultivating. That’s where we come in. Through family therapy, we can help individuals and whole families sojourn through the darkest times of their lives – together.

In the course of one’s life, sometimes the path they start out on is not the one they choose to continue on. At a certain point, something happens and a decision to change course is necessary. These are very individual decisions that can sometimes have an impact on the family. An example that we see pretty commonly is that of people who have recently made a decision to enter (more deeply/openly) the LGBTQ+ community and are now sharing their decision with their families. In an ideal world, everyone would be open to the idea, welcome the change with open arms and throw support the size of Texas in the direction of their loved one. That doesn’t always happen. And when it doesn’t, disappointment takes hold and things often take a sour turn. However, through open communication, education and with time and tools that we can help families to learn, things can and do get better. A few of the other lifestyle changes that we may help families to navigate through family therapy are:

  • Weight loss surgeries (not everyone is always going to celebrate you taking the steps to be a new, healthier and better you. Some people aren’t happy unless they have a “one-up” on you. That can be a devastating revelation and we’re to help you navigate that.
  • Gender confirming or gender confirming surgery
  • Name changes/ adapting to pronoun changes

This word is so powerful and can take on so many different forms. It’s not even always intentional, but it always hurts.

“Our family is a circle of strength and love with every birth and every union; the circle grows.”

-Author Unknown

We, through family therapy, help people to healthily navigate hurt in a way that allows all parties to feel heard. That’s what most hurts come down to, right? Someone felt ignored, disregarded, not understood and not valued because of…(insert your family’s thing here). We get it. We all have families and know the kind challenges that impede healthy, open, honest and close relationships. No matter what kind of family you have, you can trust us to be an effective springboard to launch your family to a better place.