Parenting Under Pressure: How Family Therapy Can Support Everyone—Not Just the Child
It doesn’t take a crisis for a family to feel stuck.
Sometimes it’s a pattern that won’t stop looping. A child’s outbursts. A parent’s short fuse. A sibling dynamic that leaves everyone drained. You try to hold it together. You read the books, attend the IEP meetings, stay patient... until you can’t.
Family therapy isn’t about blame. It’s about creating space for new conversations, new roles, and new understanding.
At Sunburst Psychology, we help families in Bellevue, Kirkland, Redmond, and Mercer Island move from managing stress to building connection.
When Family Systems Start to Strain
Daily interactions feel tense or emotionally exhausting
One child’s needs reshape the entire household
Parents feel out of sync with each other
Boundaries get blurry or overly rigid
You’ve tried strategies—but nothing holds for long
These aren’t failures. They’re signs of a family under pressure.
What Family Therapy Actually Looks Like
Forget the clichés. No one sits in a circle taking turns to point fingers. At Sunburst, we look at how the system operates—how communication, emotion, and stress move between people.
We work with:
Parents navigating different parenting philosophies
Families managing ADHD, neurodiversity, or emotional intensity
Siblings struggling with fairness, rivalry, or distance
Households who feel like they’ve become roommates or referees
What Changes When Families Get Support
Children feel heard and safer expressing themselves
Parents feel less isolated in managing behavior and emotion
Communication becomes less reactive and more intentional
Relationships shift from survival to actual connection
Family therapy doesn’t mean something is broken. It means you care enough to build something stronger.
How We Work at Sunburst
We tailor sessions to your unique family structure. Sometimes we meet all together. Sometimes we split sessions—parent consultation, sibling dynamics, child-focused work. We listen, adjust, and collaborate.
Our therapists use integrative approaches rooted in:
Relational theory
Emotionally focused family systems
Neurodiversity-affirming practice
Trauma-aware parenting support
We meet you where you are—overwhelmed, tired, unsure—and help your family find a new way forward together.
