Family Systems

Individuals do not exist in isolation and are intricately connected within the complex web of family dynamics. I believe that understanding these intricate relationships and patterns is crucial for promoting healing and awareness of how your family of origin, family dynamics and upbringing, have influenced you today.

We all view the world through a certain lens. How we were raised in our family of origin affects how we view ourselves and others around us. It affects how we show up in the world and we interrupt our world. When we are aware of how the environment we grew up in affects us we can learn to grow from the ways we are living that are harmful to us or that are detrimental to our growth and fulfillment.

My deep understanding of the family systems approach is born from comprehensive training and rich experience. I've explored intricate family dynamics and the profound impact of communication patterns. I guide individuals in grasping how familial interactions mold their lives. My nurturing focus lies in fostering insights into these dynamics, empowering clients to cultivate improved relationships and communication.

I am trained in family systems (Bowenian) approaches to therapy. By examining the patterns within the family and across generations, we can bring insight into behaviors that may be holding us back. This approach is especially useful in communities of color given our desire to maintain strong multi-generational kinship networks.

My background is in marriage and family therapy and I am a systemically oriented therapist - meaning I see all people as existing in connection to the beliefs, social norms, ideas, and pressures of the people and systems around them.

Whenever I work with a child or teen, I work with the parents as well. Parenting is so hard and we can all use a little support on learning new ways to support our kids and ensure we have strong connections with them.

Similar to attachment theory, family systems shape our childhoods and give us experience playing certain roles early in life. These roles may or may not create difficulty later on, especially when you are faced with a need to be flexible and divert from your most comfortable role. We can merge family systems work and analysis with role playing and other embodied methods to help break free of the constraints that roles can force upon you.

We explore the patterns and structures present within the family that impact relational patterns that can lead to individual behavioral and emotional struggles, as well as communication challenges. We work to build healthier patterns of interaction, and reinforce healthy structure within the family to improve the function of both the individuals and family as a whole.

Family Systems therapy looks at how each individual is connected to their family, community, culture and spirituality. People are wonderfully complicated and how you end up as you is a combination of many things, relationships and events that have happened throughout your life. True healing can begin when all these parts of you are looked at and healed through love, compassion, understanding and setting healthy boundaries.

My background in recovery and work in a treatment setting has given me thorough knowledge and appreciation for using a family systems approach in therapy. This means I will understand you through the lens of the family you come from, how those roles, messages, rules, and experiences have helped to shape who you are, your relationships, and how to facilitate healing in these areas.

Claudia was trained at the Ackerman Institute for the Family with a specialization in family systems theory. Claudia's approach to family therapy begins with a look at intergenerational patterns, and includes her expertise in trauma recovery.

In my work with families experiencing relational conflict, my clients find that employing an approach rooted in attachment theory allows me to help them learn about the communication patterns within the family unit. Through this work, members of the family typically report that they understand where their own communication patterns come from, how their family system operates as a whole, and their role in improving communication within that system.

Understanding family patterns can help us understand how we got to where we are today. Along with attachment theory, I use family systems to help clients build a picture of their past so they understand who they are in their relationships today, and can make choices about how they want to grow in relation to themselves and others.

Kristen and the coeo team use Family Systems Therapy to help clients understand and heal the dynamics within their families and relationships. By addressing how each person’s role impacts the system, they guide families to build stronger connections and resolve conflicts. Through a compassionate, trauma-informed approach, Kristen and her team empower clients to create healthier, more supportive relationships and navigate life’s challenges together with greater understanding and harmony.

My degree from LIOS/Saybrook University includes a focus in Systems Therapy. The Family Systems we are exposed to during our development informs how we look at the world, our sense of ourselves, and how the two interact. Our Family System especially informs our behavior, and learning more about how that works, and how to change our interactions with and perspectives on our family unit helps lead to change in our own behavior.

You are NOT broken. We each of us are inherently whole *and* as part of the family systems in which we live (or have left/grown out of) – we develop over time, certain responses, internalized messages, and patterns. When faced with difficult situations, ill health, extreme stressors or trauma, our lives can feel broken. Together we can look to identify and adjust these patterned responses, activation triggers and processes.

As a marriage and family therapist my primary training and expertise is in family systems and working with relationship dynamics.

Family systems therapy is a great way to improve how your family interacts and supports each other. By looking at how everyone fits together, it helps spot patterns that might be causing tension or conflict. This approach not only helps with individual issues but also boosts overall family communication and connection. In the end, it can lead to a happier, more harmonious family life.

Family systems therapy is a great way to improve how your family interacts and supports each other. By looking at how everyone fits together, it helps spot patterns that might be causing tension or conflict. This approach not only helps with individual issues but also boosts overall family communication and connection. In the end, it can lead to a happier, more harmonious family life.