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After working with hundreds of estranged adults, as well as delivering estrangement training to hundreds of professionals, Karl has developed his own approach to working with complex family conflict and ongoing estrangement.
Initial Session
This 90-minute Zoom call establishes the family history and dynamics that have led to the current situation. Agreeing on therapeutic goals and how best to work together collaboratively is also discussed here, although these might change as sessions progress or the client’s family situation changes. We also discuss any pressing challenges, which we may need to focus on more for the first few sessions.
Follow-Up Sessions
Subsequent Zoom calls are 60 minutes and involve two processes.
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Throughout the therapeutic process, Karl works with his client to identify the potential causes of the family issues, both in the recent past but also historically across different generations to get a deeper sense of how the family relate to and communicates with each other. This also includes reflecting on how each client has adapted to the negative family dynamics, such as adopting roles and suppressing needs, as well as the real-world impact these are having on them.
The emphasis is on the psychological, relational, and social impact, i.e., the estrangement impact triad (read Karl’s book Navigating Family Estrangement) for more details on this. As a somatic practitioner, Karl also brings the body into his work to offer more insight and awareness into the legacy of the family history on the client’s nervous system, posture, breathing patterns, etc.
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Throughout the reflection and exploration, we work regularly to develop a client’s set of tools to manage their own emotional and physical experiences, as well as actively address ongoing challenges they might have. Again, with an emphasis on the estrangement impact triad, the goal is to improve the client’s relationship with themselves and others they are close to, while also empowering them to take more control over their lives and the struggles they face.
If reconnection, with the goal of reconciliation with estranged family, if appropriate and possible, we will work towards what this might look like and how to approach it, with an emphasis on not repeating old patterns or failed attempts.
These two processes work side by side to ensure each client gets the best from therapy, and we are working towards an improvement in the quality of their lives.
Each session costs €80 and is held over Zoom every two or three weeks, depending on each client’s circumstances and Karl’s availability.