Family Conflict Coaching
Partners navigating through toddlers to teens, parenting a parent and adult sibling relationships, all come with their own unique challenges that at times can benefit from a neutral third part to help provide clarity and a safe space for honest communication.
Phoenix Strategies family conflict management helps you navigate the oftentimes, highly emotional conflict that arises in families. Analyzing the style of conflict and focusing on the problem, participants learn to recognize triggers and how to apply conflict management skills creating a cohesive unit.
Unlike therapy or counseling, family conflict mediation focuses on the skills to mitigate the conflict that causes resentment, hurt and negative feelings.
Life is full of busy work schedules, homework, practice and managing a household which can create silos within relationships, resulting in unmet needs of adults and children. While on the surface everything may seem fine, deep down there is brewing resentment, behavioral problems, anger and disappointment.
Firstly, you must accept that conflict is a part of normal life. It is how you manage it that creates understanding and harmony. There are a variety of ways conflict presents itself.
Phoenix Strategies teaches you how to identify and learn from your mistakes, forgive and move forward. Understanding no matter how aware or skillful you are, you will still encounter conflict.
Considering mediation, is the art of listening, hearing and finding a place where you find a sense of peace.
Siblings
Are you making assumptions without asking the questions? Do you find defensiveness is a common response?
Adulthood does not automatically mean that sibling rivalry no longer exists. Sibling conflict may not be outgrown in adulthood, and in fact, is common. We find that the old feelings from childhood manifest when decisions have to be made for aging parents, holiday gatherings, or family vacation planning. As sibling roles from childhood creep up into those decisions, people will revert back to rivalry and resentment of favoritism, birth order stereotypes, and assumptions fueled by distance.
Whatever the reason, Phoenix Strategies, Inc. understands that these challenging problems can be resolved. Opening a conversation and uncovering unspoken words and assumptions clarify the needs of all parties involved. By focusing on removing the barriers that inflate those youthful beliefs you create increased awareness and healthier relationships.
Many teens believe that when a conflict or disagreement arises, they have no choice but to fight. While conflict is inevitable, it doesn’t have to lead to family degeneration.
Joint mediation between parents and teens can provide a confidential, safe space to discuss the issues with an impartial mediator. Guiding the conversation to ensure each person has the opportunity to express themselves, teen family mediation focusing on creating a process that leads to de-escalation and self awareness.
Recognizing the brain development of a teen is highly active, they often need help in connecting their feelings with their actions and understanding parental intentions. Phoenix Strategies provides the resources and environment that enables parents and their teens to live together in a peaceful house.
Elder Care
Seeing a parent aging and the recognition that suddenly your roles have changed is a hard reality of life. This change can come with emotion, sibling rivalry and disagreement. Who should manage the money, where should your parents live, agreeing on medical treatment and what say does the “parent” have in the decisions are among the most common points of conflict.Designed to help support & strengthen family relationships through life’s transitions of aging parents, Elder Care Mediation focuses on the problem and moving past conflict to work together in your parent’s best interest. Working together with the aging parent and adult siblings to find a solution and agreement, elder mediation focuses on prioritizing issues, creating a plan, and agreeing to roles and responsibilities.
Some areas of conflict resolution include:
- Maximize elder’s safety and independence
- Strategize optimal solutions for diminishing physical, cognitive or decision-making
- Resolve “driving” issues
- Work out “living together or apart” arrangements and roles
- Assist with in-home or out-of home care issues between family and/or agencies
If you feel you or a loved one has a need for elder care mediation or your family could benefit from conflict coaching services, we invite you to contact us for a free initial consultation.