Family Therapy in Downers Grove, IL
Feeling disconnected from your family? Wondering how you lost the close bond you once cherished? When your family life feels strained, finding effective family therapy is the critical first step toward healing and harmony.
At Ascend Counseling, we specialize in helping families in Downers Grove and surrounding Illinois communities navigate conflict, rebuild strong bonds, and rediscover peace. Our licensed family therapists provide a neutral, structured, and compassionate space where your family can stop working against each other and start growing together.
Is Your Family Experiencing These Warning Signs?
Stress, life transitions, and unresolved conflicts can create distance and tension. Recognizing these signs early can make the path to a healthier, more connected family much smoother:
Communication Breakdown: Feeling misunderstood or ignored, constant yelling, or giving each other the "silent treatment."
Constant Conflict: Arguing about the same issues (chores, parenting styles, screen time, finances) with no resolution.
Blended Family Issues: Struggling with step-parenting roles, loyalty conflicts, or merging different family cultures.
Parent-Child Strain: Difficulty connecting with your child, constant power struggles, or concerns about their behavior.
Major Life Transitions: Disagreements over moving, career changes, illness, or navigating a recent loss.
Behavioral Concerns: Noticing significant changes in a child's or teen's mood, school performance, or social interactions.
Our Evidence-Based Approach to Family Counseling
We combine proven therapeutic methods tailored to your specific goals, helping you understand and change the patterns that hold your family back.
Our Core Methods
Structural & Systemic Family Therapy: Examining family roles, rules, and dynamics to create healthier structures.
Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) for Families: Rebuilding secure attachment and emotional connections between family members.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for Families: Changing harmful thought patterns and behaviors that fuel conflict.
Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT): Coaching parents and children together to improve relationship quality and communication.
Solution-Focused Brief Therapy: Practical, goal-oriented interventions to create positive change quickly.
Why Choose Ascend Counseling for Family Therapy in Illinois?
Licensed Illinois Family Therapists: All our clinicians have specialized training in family and systemic therapy.
Real-World Results: We've helped hundreds of Downers Grove families improve communication and rebuild connections.
Flexible Options: We offer in-office family counseling in Downers Grove and secure telehealth sessions to fit your schedule.
Insurance Accepted: We accept major insurers and offer sliding scale fees for qualifying families.
Comprehensive Family Counseling Services
Blended Family Therapy
Bringing two families together is a complex journey. Our blended family therapy helps you navigate the unique challenges of creating a new family unit. We focus on strengthening the couple's relationship as the foundation, defining parental roles, and creating new family rituals. We provide a space to address loyalty conflicts and build respectful relationships between all family members, ensuring every voice is heard.
Parent-Child Therapy
This is the cornerstone of resolving many family conflicts. We work to rebuild and strengthen the bond between parents and children through dedicated parent child therapy. Our structured approach helps you break negative cycles and learn new ways of relating to each other. We teach:
Active listening techniques that foster understanding and validation.
Effective co-parenting strategies for unified and consistent parenting.
Breaking the "attack-defend" cycle in parent-teen communication.
Expressing needs and emotions in ways that foster connection instead of conflict.
Family Conflict Resolution
Unresolved conflict can erode the foundation of a family. Our family conflict resolution services teach you not just how to manage disagreements, but how to use them as opportunities for growth. We help families identify the root causes of their arguments and develop a new framework for solving problems. Our therapists mediate difficult conversations and equip you with tools for non-violent communication and collaborative problem-solving, creating a more peaceful home environment.
What to Expect: Your Family’s Therapy Journey
Beginning family therapy can feel like a big step. We make the process straightforward, transparent, and centered on your family's comfort:
Initial Consultation (15 minutes): A free, no-obligation conversation to discuss your family's needs and answer your questions.
Comprehensive Assessment (60 minutes): A thorough evaluation of your family's history, strengths, and challenge areas—sometimes with the whole family, and sometimes with individuals or pairs.
Treatment Planning: Collaborative goal-setting with clear, achievable objectives. You'll always know what we're working on and why.
The Work: Structured sessions where you'll learn and practice new skills with your therapist's guidance to ensure productive, safe interactions.
Progress Reviews: Regular check-ins every 6-8 sessions to measure progress and adjust the approach as needed.
Typical Duration: Many families see significant improvement within 10-15 sessions, though some benefit from shorter interventions (8-12 sessions) while others need longer-term support for more complex issues.
Real Results from Our Clients
“We came in feeling disconnected and stuck, but through family therapy, we’ve learned how to work through conflicts with more understanding. We are thankful for the support our Ascend therapist provided.”
— T.Y & M.Y
Frequently Asked Questions
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Individual therapy focuses on one person's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Family therapy views problems within the context of the family system. The goal is to improve the functioning of the family as a whole by changing how members interact, communicate, and relate to one another.
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There isn't one single "best" type of therapy, as the most effective approach depends on your family's unique challenges and goals. Different models are used to address specific issues. For example, Structural Family Therapy is excellent for rebalancing family roles and rules, while Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT) is powerful for rebuilding emotional connection. Our therapists are trained in multiple evidence-based methods and will tailor an approach that best suits your family's needs after a thorough assessment.
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While every family's journey is unique, the process generally follows four main stages:
Engagement & Assessment: This first stage is about building a trusting relationship with your therapist. We'll get to know your family's history, understand the presenting problems from everyone's perspective, and identify your strengths.
Goal Setting: Working together, we'll define the core issues and create clear, achievable goals for what your family wants to accomplish in therapy.
Intervention & Change: This is the "work" phase. Your therapist will introduce new communication skills, facilitate different ways of interacting, and guide you through exercises to change unhealthy patterns.
Integration & Termination: In the final stage, we review the progress you've made, reinforce the new skills you've learned, and create a plan to help your family maintain positive changes long after therapy has ended.
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Therapy provides a neutral space for teens to express themselves and for parents to understand their teen's perspective without arguments escalating. A family therapist can help improve communication, set effective boundaries, and navigate the challenges of the adolescent years together.
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Absolutely. Our services are inclusive and tailored to each family's unique cultural, religious, and identity needs. We create an affirming environment for blended families, single-parent families, LGBTQ+ families, and all other family structures.
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Yes. Family counseling can be crucial during these transitions. The focus may shift to helping parents co-parent effectively, minimizing the negative impact on children, and supporting everyone in navigating the significant changes in a healthy way.
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We accept most major insurance plans. Contact our office for specific pricing and insurance verification. Sliding scale fees are available for qualifying individuals.
Take the First Step Toward Healing
Your family is your most important investment. Don't wait until conflicts become crises. Professional family therapy provides the tools, insights, and support needed to heal wounds, rebuild connection, and create lasting positive change.
We offer both in-person sessions at our Downers Grove office and secure telehealth options for Illinois residents.
About the Author
Sara Reed, LCSW & Founder of Ascend Counseling
Sara has over 20 years of experience helping individuals, adolescents, and families navigate obstacles and identify barriers to living a meaningful and fulfilled life. She strives to create an environment for her clients that is collaborative, non-judgmental and supportive—a space to explore difficult topics, consider other perspectives, and learn new ways of coping with life stressors.
Sara received her B.A. in Psychology from Occidental College and her Masters in Social Work from Loyola University.