Serving Lafayette and All of California
Online Family Therapy in California
Has your family’s communication completely broken down, leaving you with misunderstandings, conflicts, or emotional distance?
Family therapy can help rebuild healthy communication patterns and foster understanding among family members.
Family therapy isn’t about assigning blame or fixing one “problem” person. Family patterns shape everyone in them, and they change when the people in the family change how they respond to each other.
That’s why my work starts with the adults who guide the family, and why I tailor each family’s plan to its own needs.
I’m Julie Weigel, LMFT, a highly experienced family therapist with a passion for helping families communicate, especially helping parents feel more confident and effective.
Contact me for a free consultation. I can help you reclaim the dream of a family that stays connected through thick and thin.
A Parent-First, Systemic Approach to Family Therapy
Families are systems. When one person changes how they respond, everyone in the family feels the shift. Parents hold the most influence over a family’s emotional tone, so my Parent-First Method is the foundation of my family work.
Start with the adults’ influence
You’ll learn to notice your own triggers and emotional responses, and to use attuned listening and positive parenting skills in the moment. As you practice, the family’s patterns begin to change, and I coach you through it in a methodical, hands-on way.
Conflict Resolution
Families inevitably face conflicts—whether it’s sibling rivalries, parent-child disagreements, or issues stemming from external stressors. Family therapy equips families with conflict resolution strategies that can help them navigate these challenges more effectively. Therapists teach techniques such as identifying triggers, practicing empathy, and finding common ground. By learning to approach conflicts constructively, families can resolve disputes in a way that strengthens their bonds rather than driving them apart.
Work with patterns, not blame
Conflict, distance, and misunderstanding usually reflect cycles that everyone in the family plays a part in. We look at the real interactions you remember, such as what was said and how it landed. These give us concrete material for guided practice that helps family members feel heard and understood.
Build trust first
My style is compassionate, because trust is what makes change possible. Without it, shame can keep families from getting the help they need. Once trust is present, family members can speak more openly, and children and teens can say what they need directly to the people who matter most to them.
Address what’s underneath
Family conflict is often connected to deeper issues, such as trauma, anxiety, ADHD, or major life changes. We address these within the family context, so everyone supports one another and no single person carries the label.
Build skills that last
The goal is that you leave with skills you can use independently: clearer communication, effective ways to repair after conflict, and renewed connection.
Who Attends Online Family Sessions?
There’s no single format. Who attends is decided collaboratively and assessed individually, based on your family’s goals, and we adjust as your needs change. Depending on your situation, sessions might include:
The whole family, when everyone is ready to work on shared patterns together
A smaller group, such as parents and one child, or a parent and a teen
Parents only, to start, when parenting challenges are best addressed first. This helps you build expertise and direction, along with skills that increase mutual respect between you and your children
Sibling or other family subgroups, when particular relationships need attention
Adult family members, such as adult children and parents, or extended family, who want to reconnect after estrangement or a misunderstanding
Families also come to me during times of restructuring, such as divorce or separation, a blended family, or reunification between a child and a parent. These transitions may call for different combinations of people at different stages.
If you’re unsure who should attend, we’ll figure it out together in your free consultation.
Improve Parenting Skills Through Family Therapy
When children are in pain, parents are in pain, and vice versa. There is hope. I have spent the last 25 years facilitating positive change with complicated family challenges. Throughout my 25 years as a child and family therapist in community children's mental health, schools, and private practice, I have honed my skill with child and family therapy.
We’ll make a collaborative decision about who attends sessions, as described above. Sometimes we start with parenting, because this is where I can help families most quickly. You develop expertise and direction while learning techniques that increase mutual respect, and your children’s own problem-solving abilities have room to grow.
My approach to working with parents grew from years of teaching parenting classes and from working with a wide variety of youth and families in children’s mental health.
Learn more about parenting therapy →
You don’t have to tackle this alone.
Call today for a free phone consultation.
