Parents & Teenagers
When every conversation ends in a fight or a closed door, we work on what each person is actually trying to say - and why it stopped landing.
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STATEWIDE FAMILY THERAPY
Family therapy that works on the pattern, not the person.
When one member gets cast as the problem, the real work is usually in how the family moves together. Our therapy team works with parents and teenagers, adult children and parents, and blended families - changing the pattern instead of assigning the blame.
Accepting New Patients · In-Person + Statewide Telehealth
STATEWIDE FAMILY THERAPY
Family therapy that works on the pattern.
We will match you with the right provider and get you on the calendar - usually within one business day.
Got it. We will be in touch.
A care coordinator will reach out within one business day. If you would rather not wait, call (863) 510-2624.
Therapy is self-pay. We give you a superbill you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement. Calls are answered Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Please don’t include medical details here; we cover those on the call.
Or call directly: (863) 510-2624
Your information is kept confidential.
Quick answer
Family therapy at Ascend is provided by our therapy team, by secure video anywhere in Florida or in person at the Lakeland office. The work is systemic: the focus is the pattern between family members, not one person cast as the problem. Diana Frances Smith, MS, RMFTI, a marriage and family therapist, sees families here, using systemic, relational, psychodynamic and emotionally focused family methods under licensed clinical supervision. Sessions are self-pay, with an itemized superbill for out-of-network reimbursement, and the first call covers fit, scheduling and cost before anything is booked.
Systemic · whole-family
What we help with.
Families arrive for very different reasons, but the work is the same shape: find the pattern that keeps repeating, make it visible to everyone in the room, and change it together.
Blended Families
Step-parents, ex-partners, two sets of rules. We help families build a structure everyone can live with, without pretending the history is not there.
Book a SessionAdult Children & Parents
Old roles meet new realities - caregiving decisions, boundaries, and patterns that resurface the moment everyone is in the same room.
Book a SessionCo-Parenting After Separation
Changed households, split routines, and children holding two accounts of what happened. We help a family find workable ground across both homes.
Book a SessionWhen One Member Is Struggling
When a family organizes itself around someone’s illness, grief or behavior, everyone’s role quietly changes. We work with the whole system alongside that person’s own care.
Book a SessionThe Same Argument, Again
The identical conflict, in the same words, for years. We name the cycle underneath it so the family can step out of it on purpose rather than by accident.
Book a Session
Our approach to family work
We work with the system, not one patient.
Family therapy is systemic. That means the thing being treated is the pattern between people - who speaks, who withdraws, who smooths things over, whose feelings everyone else works around - rather than one person who has been nominated as the reason things are hard. Families very often arrive convinced the problem is a particular member. Almost as often, that member is carrying something for the whole system.
Our therapy team draws on structural and relational methods to make the pattern visible, psychodynamic work to trace where it came from, and emotionally focused family methods to repair the attachment injuries underneath it - the moments a child stopped reaching, or a parent stopped being reached. Diana Frances Smith, MS, RMFTI holds a Master of Science in Marriage and Family Therapy and works in these methods under licensed clinical supervision.
Sessions are 50 minutes and usually weekly. Who attends is a clinical decision, not a rule: some sessions are the whole family, some are one subsystem - two siblings, a parent and a teenager - and some are a single member doing preparation. Your therapist sets concrete goals with the family rather than vague aspirations, and if a member would also benefit from individual therapy or couples therapy, that can be coordinated inside the same team.
Fees & insurance
Clear costs, confirmed up front. No surprises.
Family therapy at Ascend is self-pay. We provide superbills for out-of-network reimbursement, though many plans do not cover family counseling; see our insurance page or call with questions.
Self-Pay Rates
Confirmed up front
Family therapy session50 minutes · licensed clinician
Call for rate
Intern-led family session50 minutes · supervised by licensed team
Call for rate
Intern sessions are offered at a reduced rate for families who want to make therapy more accessible. All interns are supervised by our licensed clinical supervisor.
Insurance & Superbills
Self-PaySelf-pay therapy. We do not bill insurance for family, couples or individual therapy sessions.
Out-of-network benefits? We provide superbills so you can submit for out-of-network reimbursement from your insurer. Many plans do not cover family counseling, so ask yours first.
Call (863) 510-2624 with questions about cost and therapist matching.
Common questions
Frequently asked questions.
What is family therapy, exactly?
Family therapy treats the relationships between people rather than one person's symptoms. The therapist watches how the family actually operates - who speaks, who goes quiet, who steps in to smooth things over - and works with the family to change that pattern. It is used for parents and teenagers who can no longer talk, blended families negotiating two sets of rules, adult children and parents facing caregiving decisions, and families reorganizing after a separation or a serious illness.
Does everyone in the family have to come?
No. Who attends is a clinical decision made with your therapist, not a condition of starting. Some sessions involve the whole household, some involve one part of it - two siblings, or a parent and one child - and some are individual preparation sessions. Useful work can begin with the people who are willing, and reluctant members often join once they understand the sessions are not about assigning blame.
How is family therapy different from individual therapy?
Individual therapy works on what is happening inside one person. Family therapy works on what is happening between people, so the room contains the relationship rather than a report about it. The two are often combined: a teenager may have individual sessions while the family meets separately, and at Ascend both can be coordinated within the same team.
Can we do family therapy by video?
Yes. We offer secure, HIPAA-compliant video sessions to families anywhere in Florida, and members can join from different households - which is frequently the practical answer for co-parenting work or for an adult child living elsewhere in the state. Sessions are also held in person at our Lakeland office.
How long does family therapy take?
Most families see meaningful change within 12 to 20 sessions. A single focused issue, such as one co-parenting handover that keeps going wrong, can resolve faster. Long-standing patterns, or families working through betrayal, estrangement or a recent crisis, take longer. Your therapist will set realistic expectations in the first few sessions rather than at the end.
Currently Accepting New Patients
Start with a callback.
Schedule your first family session. Tell us who is involved and we'll match you with the right therapist, usually within one business day.
Telehealth available statewide in Florida