Family Counseling with Leslie Baker, Marriage and Family Therapist in Pleasanton

In Family Counseling the therapeutic relationship is between the therapist and the family which may or may not include all members of the system. Leslie Baker, a licensed family therapist in Pleasanton supports the family’s overall health and well-being through skill development and shared growth.

The focus of family counseling or treatment is on the “whole” system rather than just the individual family members who participate. When a family is distressed, it is quite common for the members to look to one family member as the source of the problems; however, Leslie focuses on the relational interactions among the members that may be inadvertently supporting continued difficulties for the family. The goal of family counseling therapy is to utilize the family’s expertise in order to renegotiate new options and ways of interacting with one another that provide the outcome the family desires.

Leslie Baker at Ruby Hill Counseling center in Pleasanton will evaluate the family’s process, internal workings and the complex relational interactions in order to clarify the issues the family presents. Leslie works to foster and support good communication within the family so problems get solved and conflicts are addressed.

Some signs that your family could benefit from family counseling are:

• Communication challenges in managing and resolving conflicts
• Parenting and discipline difficulties
• Siblings who have problems getting along with each other
• One family member who struggles with a chronic problem such as chemical use, mood disorder and/or major illness
• Aftermath of an extreme loss (death, suicide or homicide), change of life circumstance and/or life threatening illness