What is A Couple and Family Therapist?
Couple and Family therapists are specialists that look at systems in addition to looking at the individual. In working with an individual client, Kerry has the ability to not only assist in the healing and understanding of one’s personal experiences and issues, but also how this individual’s family and couple relationship might contribute to this individual’s experiences and issues. Patterns that develop within families are important to acknowledge, as if they are ignored, these sometimes destructive patterns will continue through future generations. Due to this specialized training, Kerry is effective in working with individuals, couples, families, and other group systems.
What should I expect from therapy with a Couple and Family Therapist?
The first session will include a general individual and family history review. It is important to understand one’s family of origin in order to be able to handle the issue at hand. Kerry enjoys working from a client centered perspective, so should a client come to session already armed with their own set of questions and concerns, Kerry is happy to work from those concerns in order to move forward. Kerry is most concerned with the comfort of her clients, and moving at a pace at which the client will feel most comfortable.
Types of Appointments

Initial Session
The initial session is a time for the client to come in an air out what they would like to work on most. The client can describe the problem and how they might like to see it solved, or what resolution would be most desirable. At that point, the client and Kerry will agree on a treatment plan, which will achieve therapeutic goals the client has selected. A family history will also be taken, therapeutic as well as medical, to fully cover all areas which may need work.
Individual Appointments
The individual that comes in to meet with Kerry will be able to guide their own therapeutic treatment. Working on issues they themselves have brought to the table, they may be surprised that change can be made within both themselves and their loved ones who may not be present at the session. As Kerry has a firm understanding of couples and families, she is able to help her clients see how they might create change within their own family unit, as just one person. Kerry is also able to work from a traditional therapeutic perspective, should a client prefer that method of working one on one, on the individual client’s needs.
Couples Therapy Appointments
Should a couple come into therapy with Kerry, each member of the couple will be given the opportunity to share their concerns in a safe space. The couple will be taught skills which will better their relationship, however they might like their relationship to look moving forward. Kerry has the ability to work with individual members of a couple relationship as well as work with them together. The couple will be given tools which they can use at home and in their day to day lives so they may improve their day to day lives together and work toward an agreed upon future. Should that future not include the couple being together, Kerry also has training in mediation, should the couple like to work on a relationship other than their current romantic relationship. This type of therapy is typical for couples who are separating, who might share children or physical items which will dictate that they will need to have a functional relationship moving forward.
Family Therapy
The goal of family therapy tends to be the improvement of the relationships within the family unit. This can be treated as a whole, or as family therapists prefer, working on each individual in relation to their role within the family. As an individual within the family system changes, the system will change along with them. It is therefore most important the family is able to acknowledge the unmet needs of various individuals within the family and are able to work as a unit, with respect to the hierarchy and structure the family has chosen. Again, a focus on the family’s culture and heritage will prove to be important in this work, as various cultures place emphasis on various items. As cultures merge when families merge, it is important to highlight what is most important to each individual to ensure respect is given in the right areas. Patterns of interaction, communication, and personal preferences are all taken into account when Kerry works with a family. It is Kerry’s goal to ensure that each family member walks out of their sessions feeling heard and understood.
The initial session is a time for the client to come in an air out what they would like to work on most. The client can describe the problem and how they might like to see it solved, or what resolution would be most desirable. At that point, the client and Kerry will agree on a treatment plan, which will achieve therapeutic goals the client has selected. A family history will also be taken, therapeutic as well as medical, to fully cover all areas which may need work.
Individual Appointments
The individual that comes in to meet with Kerry will be able to guide their own therapeutic treatment. Working on issues they themselves have brought to the table, they may be surprised that change can be made within both themselves and their loved ones who may not be present at the session. As Kerry has a firm understanding of couples and families, she is able to help her clients see how they might create change within their own family unit, as just one person. Kerry is also able to work from a traditional therapeutic perspective, should a client prefer that method of working one on one, on the individual client’s needs.
Couples Therapy Appointments
Should a couple come into therapy with Kerry, each member of the couple will be given the opportunity to share their concerns in a safe space. The couple will be taught skills which will better their relationship, however they might like their relationship to look moving forward. Kerry has the ability to work with individual members of a couple relationship as well as work with them together. The couple will be given tools which they can use at home and in their day to day lives so they may improve their day to day lives together and work toward an agreed upon future. Should that future not include the couple being together, Kerry also has training in mediation, should the couple like to work on a relationship other than their current romantic relationship. This type of therapy is typical for couples who are separating, who might share children or physical items which will dictate that they will need to have a functional relationship moving forward.
Family Therapy
The goal of family therapy tends to be the improvement of the relationships within the family unit. This can be treated as a whole, or as family therapists prefer, working on each individual in relation to their role within the family. As an individual within the family system changes, the system will change along with them. It is therefore most important the family is able to acknowledge the unmet needs of various individuals within the family and are able to work as a unit, with respect to the hierarchy and structure the family has chosen. Again, a focus on the family’s culture and heritage will prove to be important in this work, as various cultures place emphasis on various items. As cultures merge when families merge, it is important to highlight what is most important to each individual to ensure respect is given in the right areas. Patterns of interaction, communication, and personal preferences are all taken into account when Kerry works with a family. It is Kerry’s goal to ensure that each family member walks out of their sessions feeling heard and understood.