Family Therapy
Healing generational trauma
The family life cycle is complicated and filled with a range of emotions. Many adult children want their parents to see them as independent adults but parents have a hard time letting go.
When Family Roles Get Stuck
When parents can't see their adult children as fully grown, they fall into old patterns—offering unsolicited advice, making decisions on their behalf, or treating them like teenagers. It leaves adult children feeling frustrated, disrespected, and trapped in a dynamic they've long outgrown.
Then there's the other side: aging parents who need more support. The role reversal feels uncomfortable, especially when old wounds remain unhealed. How do you care for parents you're still hurt by? How do you set boundaries when they still see you as their child?
These dynamics are especially common in immigrant families, where parents often derive their sense of purpose from being needed. When their children become independent, they can feel lost—unsure how to show love or support in this new stage of life. The cultural expectation to care for aging parents adds another layer of complexity, particularly when past pain hasn't been addressed.
Interested in family therapy? Send us a message!
How Family Therapy Helps
Most families aren't prepared for the emotional shift from childhood to adulthood. As children grow and parents age, roles change and that transition is rarely smooth.
It's hard to watch your parents slow down. It's normal to feel resentful if you're not ready for more responsibility. But you also know your family will always be part of your life, so finding healthier ways to connect isn't optional, it's essential.
In our sessions, we explore the family life cycle and tailor it to your unique family structure. We identify patterns that no longer serve you and create new ways to communicate and relate to each other.
Our Approach to Family Therapy
At Space to Reflect, we offer culturally sensitive family therapy that ensures every voice is heard. Our goal is to increase understanding while respecting cultural and generational differences.
Each family member has their own interpretation of family history and their role within it. Those realities can differ dramatically and that's okay. We create a safe space where families can communicate openly, work through conflict, and move toward healing together.
What Actually Happens in Family Therapy?
We bring everyone together. Everyone gets to speak. You hear each other, sometimes for the first time. We cut through years of built-up tension to solve the real problem.
In family systems, it's rarely one person's fault, no matter what everyone believes. Each person plays a role in the dynamic, and each person is part of the solution.
What Families Work On in Therapy:
Addressing harmful or unhealthy dynamics
Adjusting to new roles (marriage, parenthood, becoming grandparents)
Planning caregiving for aging parents
Healing past hurts between parents and adult children
Processing intergenerational and family trauma
Learning effective conflict resolution skills
Navigating cultural and generational differences
Building empathy and understanding across the family
When Is It Time for Family Therapy?
When everyone blames someone different for the problem. When individual therapy hasn't resolved the family conflict. When the same fights keep happening. When you care about each other but can't seem to get along.
What If Someone Doesn't Want to Participate?
Family therapy doesn't require everyone to attend every session. If one member is resistant, others can still begin the work. Often, seeing the process in action helps hesitant family members feel safer joining later.
Resistant members are welcome to attend and simply observe at first—there's no pressure to participate right away. Building trust in the process takes time, and we respect that. Our priority is ensuring everyone feels safe, heard, and validated at their own pace.
Family Therapy Philadelphia, PA
110 S 20th St 4th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103
