Family Counseling
In Scottsdale, AZ

Family therapy can be a helpful approach to almost any area of distress, conflict, or mental health concern. Yet, most commonly, people will seek family counseling for the following reasons:

• Parent-child conflict
• Sibling conflict
• Support after a traumatic event
• Loss of another family member
• Planning for an aging parent or medical issue
• Blended family dynamics and step-parenting
• Co-parenting
• Behavioral or mood difficulties in a child
• Communication difficulties with adult children
• Politics and family
• Parenting through divorce

For the first session, the family usually meets with their therapist together to discuss the family history, current challenges, unsuccessful attempts to heal, and the goals for therapy. The therapist will provide feedback on the strengths that he or she sees in the family and will propose a treatment plan.

In the following sessions, the therapist may meet with each person individually to gather a more in-depth personal history. Family counselors will usually state there are no secrets in family counseling. Any information shared in an individual session cannot be kept secret from the other family members.

By definition, short-term counseling is considered to be 12 sessions so most family counseling lasts between 12 and 24 sessions.

Factors that predict success and length of counseling:

• Timing. How recently was the injury or change to the family. Since time does not heal all wounds but instead causes them to fester, the greater the length of time between the incident and counseling, the longer the recovery tends to take.
• Motivation. Highly motivated families are usually able to overcome even the most difficult of circumstances and may be able to do so in substantially fewer sessions.
• Fit. Finding a therapist that the family connects with and feels understood by is key to a more brief and efficient therapy.

Most therapists will see each person individually for one session to gather a more in-depth personal history. Beyond this initial individual session, the future individual sessions will depend on the goals outlined. It is important to note that there are no secrets in family counseling, meaning that information shared individually cannot remain confidential from the other family members.

Each family has its own unique dynamic, structure and history. It is important that the family members that are committed to counseling are a consistent part of the counseling process. However, many topics may not be appropriate for children under the age of 18.

Therefore, BPC recommends that you discuss your situation directly with your therapist in the first session to determine if the participation of your minor children is appropriate.

We work with families across a wide range of stages, including families with school-age children, families with teenagers, and families of adults, which is a group often overlooked. A great deal of family work involves grown siblings, adult children and aging parents rather than young children at all.

Whether a particular child should be in the room, and at what age, is a decision made with you rather than by policy, and it depends on what the family is working on and on the child. We will talk it through in the consultation.

Not necessarily, and holding out for full attendance is often what stops families from ever starting. Useful work happens with whoever is willing to come.

Families are systems, which means a change in how two members relate tends to shift the pattern for everyone, including people who never set foot in the room. It is also common for a reluctant family member to join later, once counseling has stopped being a threat and become something the family simply does. Start with who you have.

Our office is out-of-network, so we do not accept insurance directly. However, if your insurance plan offers out-of-network benefits, we can provide you with a receipt so that you can bill your insurance directly.

Depending on the individual insurance plan, many will be reimbursed for a percentage of their payment. To determine if you have out-of-network mental health coverage, contact your insurance and ask about whether your plan includes out-of-network mental health coverage. Feel free to contact our office at (480) 999-7070 with any questions.

Each family has their own specific reason for coming to family counseling, so the price for family counseling sessions varies, depending on the family’s needs. Family sessions are also sometimes scheduled longer than individual ones because of the number of people in the room.

Call (480) 999-7070 and we will give you the current rate before you commit to anything.

Our office is in Phoenix at 6245 N 24th Parkway, near 24th Street and Camelback beside Biltmore Fashion Park, about 20 minutes from Old Town Scottsdale on Camelback Road. We have served the Scottsdale area since 2012, and we also offer online sessions to any Arizona resident.

Yes. Online family sessions are available to any Arizona resident, and family members can join from separate locations. This is particularly useful for co-parenting work across two households and for families with a member living elsewhere in the state. You can also mix formats. Call (480) 999-7070 and we will tell you what is available.