About family therapy

Family Systemic Therapy

Maggie works with the family to promote more open and supportive communication. Often parents can feel paralysed and helpless (and often very angry) in the face of their child’s bewildering or destructive behaviour. Maggie helps families to talk together in a calmer way to enable parents to see that what is often behind such confusing behaviour is actually a vulnerable young person in need of support.

She also helps parents, in the face of such difficult behaviour, to be firmer, but without losing control themselves.

Young people are often under tremendous pressure to manage their developing need for independence in the context of a very competitive education system and jobs market. There is strong evidence that promoting more mutual understanding and supportive communication in families reduces symptoms of anxiety, depression and self-harm in young people.

Maggie also works with adult children and their parents where there is a wish to repair something from the past that has caused a rupture in current relationships.

Family therapy is also helpful for families where a family member may have a diagnosis of a condition such as autism or ADHD or a mental health difficulty. The work can help family members both to understand the impact of the condition, and help the person with the diagnosis or illness to be seen holistically, beyond their condition, thereby strengthening relationships and wherever possible promoting recovery or optimising quality of life.