John A. Bragstad Counseling

11550 Stillwater Blvd N

Lake Elmo, MN

 

(651) 308 1200

 

Change your Thinking!  Change Your Feelings!   Change your Life!

Specializing in cognitive-behavioral

therapy (CBT) & marriage counseling

Think of a mobile.  Touch any part and everything moves  What happens somewhere affects

the whole.

 

It’s the same in families.  What we do affects others and visa versa.

 

I am one of 12% of counselors trained specifically in marriage and family therapy. 

Only marriage and family therapy as a profession requires any coursework or supervised

clinical experience in marital and couples therapy.  Here, the focus is not so much on

straight lines but circles - what we do to reinforce each others behavior.

 

A parent complains they have to nag their teenager because he/she never listens.  Talk to

the teen and he or she will say the reason they never listen is because their parent is always

nagging.  This could go on forever, each blaming the other.

 

Family therapy empowers people because it reminds family members that, like the mobile,

any family member can make a critical difference by changing their part in the dance.

 

Family therapy is not a magic bullet but a process where you will come to understand

what is happening and what you can do to influence other family member’s responses. 

 

Family therapy can work with:

 

· Teen depression

· Family conflict

· Difficulties with “adult children”

· Child discipline problems

· Uninvolved spouses

· Over-involved extended family members

· Couples adjusting to a new baby

· Couples retiring

 

So whether it’s an uninvolved spouse, a new baby in the house, inconsistent parenting

or a teenager dealing with depression, family therapy can be useful in creating real change.

 

Please call me for more information at (651) 308. 1200.  There is no obligation and calls

are kept strictly confidential.

 

John A. Bragstad Counseling serves families in the Stillwater, Woodbury, White Bear

Lake and North St. Paul areas and communities along the scenic St. Croix River such as

Hudson, WI and River Falls.

Real Help for Families

“The essence of creating order is in the creation of information”  

                              Ikujiro Nonaka

Families can be our greatest joy.  They can also be the source of heartache and frustration.

 

The truth is that what we think is simple and obvious isn’t always

that way.  Families, like small businesses, can be complicated.

 

Teenage depression sets in and families don’t know how to respond

 

A husband and wife start a real estate company and all sorts of issues surface.  Who’s really in charge?  How do you reconcile family values

with business practices and accountability?  How do you separate business and home so every dinner is not another business meeting?

Couples face retirement and must find ways to adjust to being with each other in closer proximity.

 

Family therapy is about helping families make sense of these kind of situations.  It is about  opening lines of communication.  It is about recalibrating the relationship so different results are possible.