Family Therapy

In middle childhood and adolescence, children and teens commonly seek to gain more independence, which may present as improved self-reliance, requesting new privileges, increased privacy, adamant adherence to their beliefs, challenging rules and authority, less time spent with family, and more time spent with peers. Sometimes, caregivers don’t believe their children and teens are ready for increased autonomy, and instead, they first have expectations for greater shows of maturity and responsibility. Because these goals are often at odds with one another, family tension can result. A cycle develops in which caregivers may set increased demands, give frequent consequences, become overly permissive, or feel disrespected and/or helpless. Meanwhile, children and teens may believe their freedoms have been limited, expectations are too high, their caregivers don’t understand them, or they aren’t given a voice. These feelings across parties generally result in critical perceptions of one another, negatively impacting the quality of family relationships.