Family Therapy
Are you looking for parenting skills? Peace in your home? Connection with your child? Keeping your child safe? Limits on technology and social media? Ways to calm your child when your child is upset? Help with your teen? Ways to help your child heal from trauma?
Are you feeling frustrated? Overwhelmed? Stuck in the same cycle in conversations or arguments with your child? Feeling like you are walking on eggshells around your child? Angry at your child? Worried if your child will be ready for the real world?
I offer quality, effective family therapy for families with children of all ages. I customize your family treatment using the best modalities to fit your needs: family play therapy, coping skills, parenting skills and coaching, and attachment therapy for parents and child.
The barometer is an instrument measuring atmospheric pressure, used especially in forecasting the weather and determining altitude. Children are the barometer of the family. When we tend the whole “weather system” of the family, it benefits the whole family system.
Parents are the most influential people in a child’s life. As it turns out, most children, whether they are 4 or 17, want nothing more than to have a strong attachment and relationship with their parents.
If your child is acting out, having trouble with anxiety or depression, struggling in school, or demonstrating aggressive behavior, there is a ripple effect on everyone. In a playful and balanced way, I learn about the culture of your family, with special attention to your strengths and challenges. I offer structured parenting skills and coping skills which I expect all of you to practice together! I teach you ways to connect, honor, and understand another, and you will leave with a more secure attachment with one another. I incorporate psycho-education, family therapy for teens, mindfulness, and family play therapy that empower parents and children to leave feeling equipped for the ups and downs of life.
Joy M Yeakley, LLC
Private Practice: Filial Family Therapy and Child Centered Play Therapy; EMDR; Registered Play Therapist
My first (ad)venture into the mental health field was when I applied for a residential counselor position with adults who had severe mental illness. At the time, I had a Bachelors of Arts in English and a teaching certificate. To my surprise, I got the job, and it was an adventure! I started as a Residential Counselor in an Adult Residential Treatment Facility, and then I moved into a Case Manager position. It was a crash course!
I next volunteered as a group facilitator for children who had witnessed domestic violence. This play therapy based group whetted my appetite for play therapy, and I have pursued it aggressively (and playfully) ever since.
In grad school, I interned with the Suicide Prevention Partnership of the Pikes Peak Region. Here I answered the suicide hotline, did safety assessments, planned events, and presented at Suicide Awareness and Prevention Summit.
Next stop: The Family Center: I facilitated individual, group, and family therapy for adults and children who had experienced domestic violence and sexual abuse.
My first position out of school was at Peak View Behavioral Health. As a psychotherapist, I was involved with opening the psychiatric inpatient adolescent unit in the brand new facility. I did daily risk assessments and safety planning, facilitated groups and family sessions, led clinical rounds, and created discharge plans for each patient.
And then I went back to school! As a School Social Worker, I supported two classrooms for children with severe emotional disabilities. I developed Functional Behavioral Assessments & Behavior Intervention Plans; facilitated social skills groups, and met with students weekly; co-wrote a grant for Suicide Prevention, won the grant, and implemented Suicide Prevention curriculum for the entire high school; and conducted threat assessments and suicide risk assessments.
In 2017 I founded my private practice, Joy M Yeakley, LLC. My desire is to provide the best quality care for families of all ages and stages, and I’m passionate about generational impact. Think about it! The stronger the bond between parent and child, the stronger the attachments in future generations! I specialize in Filial Family Therapy, Child Centered Play Therapy, and EMDR.