A rare, specialized service that brings grandparents, in-laws, adult siblings, and other extended family members into the therapeutic process to strengthen bonds, resolve conflict, and create lasting understanding across generations.
Most family therapy focuses on the nuclear family unit.. Grandparents, in-laws, adult siblings, and other extended family members shape the values, patterns, and emotional climate of a family in ways that ripple across generations, whether or not they are in the room.
This service also addresses the adult child and parent relationship directly. These are often the most emotionally loaded relationships in a family system, and they carry decades of history, unspoken hurt, and shifting dynamics that can quietly push people apart. Estrangement rarely happens all at once. It builds slowly through accumulated distance, misread intentions, and conversations that never quite happened. This is one of the few private practices in New York State offering therapy specifically focused on grandparent estrangement, family estrangement prevention, and extended family estrangement. My role in this work is not to force everyone to meet in the middle. It is to help each person feel genuinely heard while creating the conditions for something more honest and sustainable to emerge. That might mean helping a parent understand the impact of long-standing patterns. It might mean helping an adult child articulate what they actually need rather than what they have always just endured. I specialize in helping families hear each other across the noise of history, establish clearer and more respectful communication, and build protocols they can actually maintain long after our work together ends.
When children are part of the picture, this work is explicitly child-centered. The needs and wellbeing of the children in the family are always the central focus, and every conversation about adult dynamics is held with that lens firmly in place.
Intergenerational family therapy is still relatively uncommon in private practice. It requires a therapist who can hold space for multiple generations, multiple loyalties, and deeply held values that may have decades of history behind them.
This process works best when all participating family members are willing to show up and are at least somewhat open to the process. They do not need to agree with everything or arrive without reservations. But a basic willingness to listen and engage honestly is essential for the work to be meaningful. If you are unsure whether everyone involved is ready for that, the free consultation is a great place to explore that together before any commitment is made.
Grown children navigating a difficult or complicated relationship with a parent, where old patterns, unspoken hurt, or changing dynamics are creating distance or conflict.
Grandparents who feel shut out or unsure how to maintain their relationship with grandchildren when things feel tense with the parents.
Grandparents navigating estrangement or near-estrangement from their grandchildren, or who feel shut out and unsure how to re-establish contact when the relationship with the parents has broken down.
Parents struggling with differing values, parenting styles, or the feeling that extended family members are not respecting agreed-upon boundaries.
Relationships between adult children and their parents are strained and drifting toward estrangement. Early intervention and estrangement prevention work can stop the kind of distance that becomes very hard to repair.
Separation or divorce has complicated the extended family dynamic and grandparents are uncertain about their role.
In-law relationships or blended household structures are creating tension that needs a neutral space to be addressed.
The family wants to put clear, healthy communication agreements in place so everyone knows what to expect.
No major conflict, just a genuine desire to be more intentional about extended family relationships before distance or drift sets in.
Every generation in this process deserves to be respected and heard. My approach holds that belief at its center.
Parents and grandparents each have their own consultation before the joint session. This prevents the joint session from becoming a confrontation.
My role is not to keep everyone comfortable by avoiding the hard things. Difficult dynamics are named clearly and addressed directly. At the same time, I do not arrive with assumptions about who is right or who needs to change.
Whatever the intergenerational dynamic, the goal is always a family environment in which children feel secure and free from loyalty conflicts.
Every package includes a written summary or professional report so all participants leave with a shared understanding of what was discussed.
I approach this work with genuine respect for every person in the room. Each generation carries their own experience, their own love for the family, and their own reasons for being there.
The work is honest rather than polite, and the children's wellbeing and the integrity of the parent-child relationship remain the central focus throughout.
The goal is a family system where everyone has a clear, healthy, and sustainable role and where the hard conversations have finally had the space they needed to happen.
A focused intervention for families who want to address a specific concern or strengthen a specific relationship.
A more comprehensive process for families navigating deeper conflict, significant transitions, or situations requiring sustained support.
Available to families who have completed a package. A 60-minute follow-up session to continue the work or maintain progress.
Insurance does not typically cover this type of specialized family intervention service. A superbill can be provided upon request for clients seeking out-of-network reimbursement, though coverage is not guaranteed.
Sessions are available in person at my Hamburg, NY office and via telehealth throughout New York State and Michigan. For families where an in-home session would be beneficial, I am happy to travel throughout the Western New York area. Travel outside of WNY is possible with client-covered accommodations and travel expenses.
I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation before any package commitment. It is a chance to share what is happening in your family and make sure this is the right fit.