Welcome to Family Ties Counseling
“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor, and more unashamed conversation.” – Glenn Close.
What We Do
Family Ties Counseling provides evidence based therapy for adults, adolescents, children and families to nurture growth and healing. Let us help you connect with one of our therapists who can meet your needs and is available to see you, online or in-person.
Areas of Specialty
Anxiety and Depression
There are times in our lives that our mood suffers as a result of changes within and around us. Depression and anxiety can interfere with all facets of living and can be managed with therapy. Depression may make it very difficult to take the first step in seeing a therapist but the results are life changing for many people. We believe that anxiety can be a positive emotion--it is often a motivator for very successful people! But sometimes, anxiety can be counterproductive and needs to be put back into perspective. We can help you take a look at the factors that are causing depression and anxiety and work with you to manage them in a way that brings comfort and peace.
Life Transitions and Change
Life doesn’t always deal us the hands we want, and for good reason: If it did we would hardly grow. Sometimes things happen that we struggle to deal with. We’re not necessarily depressed or anxious, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need help understanding and accepting who we are, and who we want to be, in relation to these events. Our goal is to provide you with a safe and private space to explore your true feelings, as well as provide you with a sympathetic and empathetic ear. Together we can work to help you find wholeness and balance as you adjust to life’s circumstances.
Adoption and Foster Care
Parenting and supporting children through foster care and adoption can be highly awarding, but comes with unique issues. Children in our foster are system and those that have been adopted all share the commonality of grief and loss. and often times trauma. Providing a safe space to help children heal and grow from those experiences is vital. Helping parents understand the complexities adoption brings to the identify of their children is also critical. We can help both parents and their children in processing their experiences.
Career and Work Stress
Any job can be stressful, even when you love your job! Whether the stress is temporary or chronic, work-related issues can result in many unpleasant symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty sleeping, trouble concentrating, and a lack of pleasure. Our therapists can help you learn new ways to cope with career stress, gain an understanding of how stress affects you, and teach you ways to manage your situation to improve your overall satisfaction in life. We will work with you to increase your resiliency and prevent burnout. We provide a nonjudgmental environment in which we can work together to support your success in your work and personal lives.
Trauma
trauma can be defined as a psychological, emotional response to an event or an experience that is deeply distressing or disturbing. Each person’s experience with trauma is unique. The effects of trauma may be more far-reaching for some people than for others. For people diagnosed with PTSD or a trauma-related disorder, engaging in evidence-based mental health treatment, though incredibly challenging, can lead to a significant improvement in symptoms and a better quality of life.
Grief and Bereavement
Loss is a time of emotional and physical unrest. Loss comes in a variety of ways, such as the death of a loved one, divorce, infertility and miscarriage etc. You may feel like you are on a roller coaster of emotion between sadness, anger, confusion, guilt, and loss of ability to move forward. Your loss has meaning for you that can bring positive insight and help you to understand others in powerful ways. We will support you during this sensitive time and allow you to process at your own speed and comfort level.
Parenting Support
Parenting might just be one of the hardest jobs on Earth. Coping with the everyday challenges of parenting can feel exhausting and overwhelming. We will work with parents in providing support so that their children can thrive behaviorally, socially, and academically.
Behavioral Issues in Childhood
Children act out for different reasons. When dealing with tantrums, meltdowns and defiance it is to helpful to understand the underlying causes to their behavioral responses. We will help you explore the best way to handle behavior problems in children through individual work with the child and in the context of parenting as well.
Relationship Issues
We have all been in relationships that are life giving and struggled with ones that are not so rewarding. Being in a relationship that causes distress really can disrupt your daily life and emotional health. We can work on finding solutions together so that you are proud of your decisions and the way you interact with another.
Stress Management
Life can be stressful and may feel overwhelming at times. Sometimes we aren't even sure why the little things are getting in the way. We encourage you to take the time to care for your emotional health just as you would your physical health. Our therapists help you navigate whatever you are facing – no matter how big or small so that you can be your best self- even in times of high stress. We cannot control all of the stress in our lives but we can learn healthier ways to respond.
Therapeutic Approaches
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT an evidence based treatment with years of research supporting the effectiveness of improving functioning for individuals in a variety of areas such as trauma, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and relationships. CBT explores the interactions between thoughts, feelings, and behaviors and how unhealthy thinking patterns can lead to unhelpful behavior and feelings.
Attachment, Regulation, and Competency (ARC)
ARC, an evidence based framework, is a flexible, components-based intervention developed for children and adolescents who have experienced complex trauma, along with their caregiving systems. ARC’s foundation is built upon four key areas of study: normative childhood development, traumatic stress, attachment, and risk and resilience.
Schema Therapy (ST)
In schema therapy, you’ll work with your therapist to uncover and understand your schemas, sometimes called early maladaptive schemas. Schemas are unhelpful patterns that some people develop if their emotional needs aren’t met as a child. These schemas can affect you throughout life and contribute to problematic coping methods and behaviors if they aren’t addressed. Schema therapy aims to teach you how to ensure your emotional needs are met in a healthy way that doesn’t cause distress
Attachment Biobehavioral Catch-up (ABC)
ABC is an evidence-based parenting intervention for caregivers of infants between the ages of 6 and 24 months who have experienced early adversity. The benefits of ABC include helping caregivers re-interpret children’s behavioral signals and respond sensitively, enhancing children’s behavioral and regulatory capabilities, and fostering the development of secure attachments between children and their caregivers.
Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
DBT provides clients with new skills to manage painful emotions and decrease conflict in relationships. DBT specifically focuses on providing therapeutic skills in four key areas. First, mindfulness focuses on improving an individual's ability to accept and be present in the current moment. Second, distress tolerance geared toward increasing a person’s tolerance of negative emotion, rather than trying to escape from it. Third, emotion regulation covers strategies to manage and change intense emotions that are causing problems in a person’s life. Fourth, interpersonal effectiveness consists of techniques that allow a person to communicate with others in a way that is assertive, maintains self-respect, and strengthens relationships.
Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
PCIT is an evidence-based treatment for young children between the ages of 2 and 7 with behavioral problems. PCIT is conducted through "coaching" sessions during which you and your child engage in play while the therapist provides in-the-moment coaching on skills you are learning to manage your child's behavior. PCIT is done across two treatment phases. The first phase of treatment focuses on establishing warmth in your relationship with your child through learning and applying skills proven to help children feel calm, secure in their relationships with their parents, and good about themselves. The second phase of treatment will equip you to manage the most challenging of your child's behaviors while remaining confident, calm, and consistent in your approach to discipline.
What People Are Saying
Working with Julie is a great experience! She is a unique combination of caring and honest and truly works with you to meet your goals. I've worked with many therapists and I would easily and enthusiastically recommend Julie to anyone ready to do their work. Thank you for everything, Julie!
— HM
”Julie is incredible, a perfect fit for me! Smart, kind, open-minded, easy to talk to, and super supportive. 100% recommend”
— former client