Family counseling
Wherever your family is starting from, family therapy helps you change the pattern together, so no one has to carry it alone.
Request a free intro callIn person in McLean
Weekday appointments until 8 p.m.
Most people start in one week or less
The kids might be in grade school or in their forties. It can sound like this:
While the kids are home
“Home feels tense, and no one knows why.”
“When one of us struggles, we all feel it.”
“The kids can't stand each other right now.”
“We blended two families. It's not blending.”
Now that everyone's grown
“Every holiday ends in the same argument.”
“My grown son and I keep clashing.”
“Caring for Mom has us all at odds.”
“We haven't really talked in years.”
Families rarely see things the same way. Agreeing on what's wrong can come later.
We treat nearly all of this in our outpatient setting. If you need more support, like an intensive outpatient or residential program, we'll help you find the right one.
In most families, people end up with jobs no one assigned: the peacekeeper, the one who seems to be the problem, the one who holds everything together. When family therapy works, those roles start to loosen. The peacekeeper lets a disagreement happen, and nothing falls apart. The one who seemed to be the problem gets to be more than that. And whoever was holding it all together finally gets some help.
Family sessions can sound risky at first, like the same old fight with a stranger watching. Your therapist works to make it something different: a room with space for each person, from the youngest to the one who'd rather be anywhere else. No single voice runs the session, and the quietest person gets a real turn.
You can probably feel the moment a family conversation goes sideways. Your therapist helps you catch it. They'll pause everyone and name what just happened, without taking sides. Hearing it said out loud, with care, can make it easier to do something different, right there in the room.
Picture a mobile hanging over a crib. Touch one piece, and every piece moves. Families are a lot like that. When one piece is weighed down, the others tilt to make up for it, usually without anyone noticing. So we work with the pattern, not just the person showing the strain. As the pieces learn to move differently, the family can find a steadier balance.
Your therapist draws on many approaches. Here are four we use often, each a different lens on how families work:
Attachment science
Research on our lifelong need to feel safe and close with the people who matter most. It helps explain why family conflict can hit so hard, and what helps people reconnect.
EFFT (Emotionally Focused Family Therapy)
The family form of the Emotionally Focused approach our couples work uses. It looks at the cycle a family gets caught in and the feelings driving it, then helps everyone respond to each other with more understanding and less heat.
Structural Family Therapy
Developed by Dr. Salvador Minuchin, it looks at how a family is organized: who's close, who's on the outside, and who makes the calls. Small shifts there can take pressure off everyone.
Bowen Family Systems Therapy
Developed by Dr. Murray Bowen, it helps each person stay close to family without getting swept up in its stress, and looks at how patterns echo across generations.
Each clinician's bio lists the methods they use.
Who's in the room depends on what you're working on. Some sessions include the whole family. Others might be a parent and a child, two siblings, or just the adults, and the mix can shift as the work goes on. Sessions often run 50 minutes, sometimes longer. Plan on meeting weekly or every other week at our McLean office, on a rhythm you choose with your therapist.
Want your child to see someone one on one?
See Children & teens →Meet the clinicians who work with families. Each bio shares their training, their approach, and the methods they use.
Not sure who fits? That's what the intro call is for.
Request a free intro call Meet the whole team →Sessions range from $210 to $285, depending on your clinician.
Need a lower fee? Our Institute's supervised Clinical Interns see clients for $50 a session, or as little as $10 based on household size and income, and our staff clinicians can see a limited number of clients at a reduced rate.
What if someone doesn't want to come?
That's common, especially with teens and grown kids. You can start with whoever is ready. When part of a family changes, the rest often feels it, and people who held back sometimes join later. Your therapist can help you think through how to invite them.
Can you help us figure out which kind of therapy fits?
Yes. The intro call is the place to start. Family therapy tends to help most when the hard part shows up between people: the same conflicts on repeat, a big change everyone's adjusting to, or one person's struggle shaping life for all of you. Someone may also need care of their own: therapy for your child, individual therapy for a parent, or couples therapy. Any combination is possible, and your clinician will talk it through with you.
Do you work with adult children and their parents?
Yes. Families don't stop being families when the kids grow up. Grown children and their parents come to us to close the distance, talk about things that have gone unsaid for years, adjust when someone moves back home, or plan together for an aging parent's care. Siblings can come too. If you'd also like a space for yourself, see Individuals →
What happens on the intro call?
It's a free, 30-minute call with the clinician we think fits your family best, based on your request. You'll talk about what's going on and what you're hoping for, plus the practical stuff: fees and scheduling. It's also a chance for both of you to sense the fit. If someone else on our team is a better match, they'll make the introduction. You decide what's next.
Can I use my insurance?
Often, yes. We're an out-of-network provider, and many of our clients get part of the cost of each session reimbursed. Here's how it works: you pay at the time of your session, and we give you a superbill, a detailed receipt you submit to your insurance company. A quick call to your insurer can tell you what your plan covers. You can also pay with an HSA or FSA card.
Anyone in the family can send the request, and more than one of you can join the intro call.
Send a short form. It takes about two minutes. Tell us who you're looking for help for and what's going on. A sentence or two is plenty.
Talk with a clinician. The clinician we think fits you best, based on your request, calls you for a free, 30-minute intro call. You'll talk through what you're looking for, fees, and format, and make sure it's the right fit.
Book your first session. We'll send you a link to schedule. Most people start in one week or less.
There's no commitment on the call. If we're not the right fit, we'll tell you, and help you find who is.
Request a free intro callIn crisis? Call or text 988, or go to the nearest emergency room.
