13 Aug A Designed Life, But by Whom?

Why Might I Benefit from Family of Origin Therapy?

1. If you have suffered physical, sexual or emotional abuse or trauma
2. Your basic emotional and physical needs have been ignored or neglected
3. If your primary caregiver or parents were overly critical
4. If caregiver in your life suffered with emotional distress or illness
5. You felt smothered and overly controlled by your parents
6. You were forced to take on a parenting role for sibling and others when you were not capable of managing such a task
7. You felt that you had to become a caregiver to a parent or another person who was your caregiver (role-reversal)
8. You were abandoned by a loved one or adult caregivers

These are just a handful of common circumstances wherein adults carry with them messages and stories that might not serve us well, and they often interfere with healthy adult relationships.  It may be residual anger or anxiety.  It might be depression or difficulties forming strong relationships.  When we experience early childhood difficulties in our “family of origin,” the struggles stemming therefrom often playout over the course of an entire life.  Unresolved, we can move forward in life carrying faulty beliefs about ourselves, others and how to interpret life’s events.

Do you think you tend to attract certain types of people?  Are they negative in perspective?  Do you attract people who might condescend to you or otherwise treat you disrespectfully, disdainfully?  Moreover, do you accept it as normal?  If so, you might think about family of origin work to help you understand how things came to be this way.  And, how to resolve it and react in a more adult, productive and positive way.  

There is usually something going on that calls for a careful examination if we continue these patterns of feelings and actions.  We can help you rid yourself of harmful belief systems you are trying to keep stashed away inside, and we can help you develop an understanding of how and why you might have developed as you did.  This is how, together, we start to live a “designed life,” not one designed by others, but by you.