Family Counseling Potomac, MD

Does couples counseling work?

If you are struggling with a family issue, or would like to address something in a guided, controlled environment, going to sessions for family counseling in Potomac, MD may be a right solution. Lindsey Hoskins & Associates offers purposeful healing to family members who are interested in focused based therapy models. Our therapists seek to establish stronger connections with one another, particular those between a parent and a child. 

If you would like to schedule an initial consultation with a family counselor from Lindsey Hoskins & Associates, please call our clinic today. 

Family Counseling in Potomac, Maryland for Trauma

Trauma can be considered any experience that leaves a person feeling vulnerable, scared, alone, helpless, and overwhelmed. There are a number of events that may be traumatic. For example, sexual or physical abuse, a natural disaster, or being in an accident. Trauma is more than physical harm. It can also include emotional neglect, living in a stressful home, or separation from a caregiver. When it comes to children, each child will handle a situation in their own way. Some situations that would often be considered traumatic will actually be handled considerably well for a child. On the other hand a small, or insignificant event could be distressful. That said, whenever a child is exhibiting the following signs, it may be a good idea to consider family counseling in Potomac, MD. 

• The child struggles to calm down their emotions
• The child isolates themself
• The child struggles to form a positive sense of themself
• He or she struggles to form a relationship with others
• The child develops eating disorders, including those that may be odd (i.e. hiding food)
• The child acts out sexually
• The child struggles to acknowledge appropriate boundaries

Important Questions About Children and Trauma

Before you schedule a session for family counseling Potomac, MD therapist, Lindsey Hoskins offers, you may have questions about trauma and children. The following are some common questions our therapists are asked. 

Why Do I Struggle to Get Along With My Child?

It may be difficult to develop a relationship with a child who doesn’t seem to want to have a relationship with you. As a counsellor might explain to you, trauma can impact the connection that a child has with you. Typically, with a childhood trauma, the trauma occurs in a context of a relationship. Thus, the child learns the relationship is not safe. As a result, they may naturally want to protect themselves from hurt by distancing themselves from you. 

As much as you might feel that your child is pushing you away, please know they need you. Through family counselling in Potomac, MD, we will observe the connection and relationship between you and your child. There will be cues that suggest a longing for connection, and with these cues, the counsellor will help you to understand how to respond effectively in these moments. 

What is a Session Like?

During family counseling in Potomac, MD, you will learn about your child’s past, and any adverse experiences that may be affecting their current behavioral and emotional state now. We will also explore both your child’s and your own triggers that may result in an emotional outpouring. You will learn how to intervene and foster healthy attachment and connection. 

The brain can change at any time, and social interactions are a primary source of cognitive development, growth, and healing. You can heal the relationship between you and your child. Let a counsellor help you. To explore our services for family counselling Potomac, MD residents should call Lindsey Hoskins & Associates. 

Family Counseling For Couples Counseling

Does Couples Counseling Work?

This is a question we get from time to time as counselors, and we also hear it from friends and family who receive Family Counseling in Potomac, MD from Lindsey Hoskins & Associates. The truth is that couples counseling and family counseling can work as much as the participants want it to work.

Here are some tips that can help maximize the effectiveness of couples counseling for you and your partner.

1. Be sure both of you want to participate in couples counseling. Unless both of you are invested in the process, achieving your goals of resolving your issues will be more challenging. When you are mutually committed, there is a far likelier chance for a positive outcome.
2. Be mutually clear on what issues you want to address and what your partner wants to address. Without clarity, achieving your goals can be very difficult, if not impossible. In addition, with a clear understanding of what exactly you’d like to address, it can be easier to envision how many couples counseling sessions you may need.
3. Be willing to commit to a period of time that you will attend couples counseling sessions. If there are issues that are serious enough to send you to counseling for your relationship, then they are probably not easily resolved or else you would have already done that. By committing to attending a certain number of sessions for MD family counseling in Potomac, it allows a period of time to work through these serious issues. Otherwise, one or both of you may give up before a positive conclusion has the opportunity to develop.
4. Be willing to look at yourself and make changes about your own behavior. More than likely, you (as well as your partner) have developed problems with each other. If that behavior is identified and acknowledged only by one person and not the other, this leaves a power imbalance. It also prevents true healing from taking place between the two of you. Unless both of you are open to making changes in your behavior ahead of time, couples counseling or family counseling may not be successful.
5. Be open to switching counselors if necessary. There are various approaches that counselors can take when working with couples who want to deal with one or more issues. There is no best approach except the one that works to help couples improve the strength of their relationship. However, because every person is unique, including the counselor, you or your partner may not feel your current counselor is a good fit.

At Lindsey Hoskins & Associates, we understand and acknowledge this. Though we make every effort to match one of our counselors with a couple, it’s hard to anticipate the connection that is made or not made between counselor and client. For this reason, we encourage couples to not give up on MD Family Counseling and instead to consider switching to someone else who may be a better fit. Though this it’s rare that this comes up as an issue, it’s always a possibility.

Benefits to Services a Clinical Psychologist Can Provide

Working with a clinical psychologist assists patients who suffer from mental illness. Taking advantage of a clinical psychologist can provide people with a better ability to manage their condition and the symptoms that often result. Our therapists often see patients who are struggling with the challenges that life often brings. While these can certainly vary in severity, signing up for Maryland Family Counseling in Potomac is a way for people who are looking to face the problems they may be struggling with therapy to create goals and obtain skills. Seeking the help of a clinical psychologist can provide patients with a number of benefits:

Benefit #1: Establish Clear Goals

Therapy from a clinical psychologist can assist you by helping you to establish clear goals to work on, in and out of treatment. Over time, goals may change based on your situation, but with our help, we can discuss your goals and help you strategize how you will achieve them. Not only will we help you establish goals, we will help to hold you accountable during treatment.

Benefit #2: Develop a Trusting Relationship

When working with a clinical psychologist, it’s essential that they are able to build a positive report with you. As this occurs, trust is likely to build over time. Building a solid relationship with your clinical psychologist can help you to be open and vulnerable during sessions, something that can be hard to do without an established relationship. Despite this, it’s important that you are able to be open with your provider when you are feeling stuck in treatment, this is important to ensure that treatment is as effective as possible. 

Benefit #3: Treat Mental Illness

There are a number of mental illnesses that clinical psychologists can help treat. However, it’s important to know that depression is one of the most common mental illnesses people seek treatment for. In some cases, depression may be situational, meaning you experience depression after a traumatic event, often lasting for a shorter period of time. A major depressive disorder is a condition that patients may experience for the rest of their lives. An effective and experienced psychotherapist, can provide patients with a supportive and trusting clinical treatment to help patients meet their goals. During treatment, patients can expect to discuss issues and develop skills to better cope with life’s challenges. 

Benefit #4: An Objective Party

By attending Potomac Family Counseling at Lindsey Hoskins & Associates, we can help navigate some of your most personal issues while providing you with treatment that is non-judgemental. Seeking psychotherapy from a clinical psychologist doesn’t always mean that you need an answer to every one of life’s problems. Treatment can provide you with a professional who will listen to you without judgment.

While working with a clinical psychologist can provide you with a variety of benefits, you will want to make sure that you have chosen a professional who has the experience and skill that you need to treat and address your struggles. Give Lindsey Hoskins & Associates a call if you’d like to know more about couples counseling and family counseling in Potomac that families turn to for results.