Family relationships can be deeply meaningful—and deeply complicated. Even in families with care and love, long-standing roles, expectations, and unresolved experiences can create tension, guilt, conflict, or emotional fatigue.

 

You may feel torn between loyalty and self-protection. You might notice that certain family interactions leave you feeling drained, reactive, or unsure of yourself. For some people, distance from family creates its own form of grief or confusion.

 

Counselling offers a thoughtful space to explore these dynamics with care, clarity, and respect for your lived experience.

 

Sessions are available in person in Saanich and online across British Columbia.

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Common Family-Related Concerns

 

People seek counselling around family dynamics for many reasons, including:

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• Ongoing conflict or tension with parents, siblings, or extended family

• Feeling responsible for others’ emotions or wellbeing

• Difficulty setting or maintaining boundaries

• Loyalty conflicts and guilt

• Estrangement or reduced contact with family

• Unresolved grief, anger, or disappointment

• Patterns that repeat across generations
   

These experiences often carry emotional weight that can affect confidence, relationships, and decision-making in other areas of life.

 

Understanding Patterns, Not Assigning Blame

 

Family dynamics are rarely about one person being “at fault.” They are shaped over time through roles, unspoken rules, cultural expectations, and survival strategies that once made sense.

 

In counselling, we take time to understand how these patterns developed, how they continue to influence you, and what options exist moving forward. This may involve exploring family roles, communication styles, attachment patterns, or early experiences that continue to shape present-day reactions.

 

Understanding doesn’t require excusing harm and clarity often brings choice.

 

What Counselling Can Support

 

Our work may focus on:

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• Making sense of complex or painful family relationships

• Identifying and changing unhelpful relational patterns

• Developing boundaries that feel both firm and compassionate

• Navigating guilt, grief, or conflicting emotions

• Strengthening your sense of self outside family roles

• Deciding how you want to engage with family going forward
   

Counselling is not about forcing reconciliation or cutting ties. It’s about supporting thoughtful, informed choices that align with your values and wellbeing.

 

Therapeutic Approaches

 

I draw from person-centred therapy, Internal Family Systems (IFS), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), mindfulness-based practices, and cognitive and emotion-focused strategies. The focus is always adapted to your needs, pace, and goals.

 

Moving Forward with Clarity

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Family relationships can remain important even when they’re challenging. Counselling offers a place to slow down, think clearly, and reconnect with your own needs and boundaries, without pressure to arrive at quick answers.

 

If family dynamics have been weighing on you, you’re welcome to book a complimentary consultation or schedule a session.