Posted on November 19th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

The holidays this year will be different than ever before. COVID considerations will have to play into every decision we make about our plans. Are you willing to get into an airplane, or will you […]

Posted on January 15th, 2020 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Family conflict is a part of life. There is no family without some level of discord and disagreement. And most families survive intact despite it. However, in some families the level of conflict is elevated […]

Posted on August 14th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

There are many reasons adults may decide to stop talking to their siblings. Old wounds from their childhood interactions are a major culprit, as are ongoing personality differences that cause friction. Often a major life event will lead to a break, such as a Thanksgiving dinner gone awry, or, regrettably, the death of a parent and the inheritance squabbles that can ensue.

Posted on July 22nd, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In our last post I offered some ideas on how parents can go about reconnecting with adult children who have become distant and disconnected. In this post I’d like to talk a bit more about […]

Posted on June 20th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

You spent decades of your life raising your children. You poured your love, time, effort, and money into giving them the best life you could. Sure, you made mistakes along the way, but you tried […]

Posted on May 13th, 2019 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

There’s been conflict in your family for some time now, and you’re ready to finally get some professional help with it. Strong personalities within a family can make it very hard to change the system […]

Posted on November 19th, 2018 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

As the holiday season bears down on us, many folks find their anxiety levels spiking in anticipation of yet another stressful family holiday. 

Posted on September 26th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

In the previous post we cited a number of examples of role changes that can lead to conflict in the home and the importance of family therapy for managing these transitions.  There we focused primarily […]

Posted on August 24th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

We frequently get calls for family therapy, specifically regarding troubled mother/daughter relationships.  These include young parents with school- or preschool-aged children, middle-aged women with their teenage/young adult daughters, and even up to elderly women who […]

Posted on May 12th, 2016 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Parents-in-law have been known to cause grief in many a marriage, but they can also be of tremendous help to it.  In this article I touch on just a few important notes for how parents […]

Posted on July 1st, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Everyone has things they want and need out of the relationships they are in. Most people recognize that aggressive behavior is not a good way to get those things while maintaining the relationship at the […]

Posted on April 22nd, 2015 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Check out our new video about one of our unique specialties – helping adults manage their relationships with their own parents!  We hear a lot of complaints about this kind of issue out in the […]

Posted on October 19th, 2014 By Raffi Bilek, LCSW-C

Here is a recent column of mine that appeared in a local newspaper discussing a common issue that comes up in families. While this person may or may not be a candidate for family therapy, […]