Adult Family Therapy
Therapy for adults navigating significant family relationships.
Available in-person in Brooklyn, New York and virtually throughout New York, Massachusetts, and Florida.
Who This Is For
Family challenges don't always resolve on their own.
Adult family therapy is for people navigating the dynamics that persist long after childhood ends. The roles that calcified early. The ruptures that went unaddressed. The estrangements that have lasted years, or decades. The parent-child relationships that are asking to be renegotiated now that everyone is grown.
I work with adult children and parents, siblings, and other family members navigating something significant between them — whether that's estrangement and the question of whether to reconnect, grief over a relationship that never became what it should have been, a specific rupture that needs a structured space to address, or a transition point where the old dynamic no longer fits.
One person can begin alone. Both people coming is often the more direct path, but individual work frequently clarifies what you're actually hoping for — and sometimes creates conditions that make it possible for the other person to engage.
Available in Brooklyn, New York. Virtual sessions in New York, Massachusetts, and Florida.
Areas of Focus
Adult family therapy can help with:
- Estrangement — whether you're considering reconnection, closure, or simply need to understand what happened
- Parent and adult child relationships at a transition point
- Sibling ruptures and longstanding family conflict
- Grief over relationships that never became what you needed them to be
- Family dynamics around a major life event — illness, death, divorce, or inheritance
- Preparing for a difficult family conversation with support
“I have known Francesca for several years and she has an ability to create so much space and comfort that it feels possible to explore tender topics in her presence. Further, she has a wealth of clinical knowledge and lived experience that creates a sense of holding for me which is essential especially with some of my intersecting identities."
S.D. · Individual Client
What to Expect
In adult family therapy, we will:
Understand the Pattern
We start by mapping what's actually happening — the roles, the histories, the unspoken rules that have shaped the dynamic. Most family conflict makes perfect sense once the underlying structure becomes visible.
Create Space for the Real Conversation
Many family ruptures persist because the conversation that needs to happen has never had a safe container. The work creates that container — structured, boundaried, and oriented toward something other than winning.
Work Through Grief and Accountability
Family work almost always involves grief — for what happened, for what didn't, for what may not be recoverable. We move through that grief honestly, alongside whatever accountability the situation requires.
Find a Way Forward
The goal isn't a predetermined outcome. Some families find their way back to each other. Others arrive at a different kind of clarity and closure. Both are legitimate. The work is about getting to something real, not something performed.
Also at Maximé Clarity
Need more intensive support?
For families navigating something that requires more concentrated time, Relational Intensives at Maximé Clarity offer immersive half-day and full-day formats designed for exactly that.
Common Questions
About Adult Family Therapy
What is adult family therapy, and how is it different from traditional family therapy?
Adult family therapy focuses on relationships between adults — typically adult children and parents, siblings, or other family members — rather than the family-as-unit model designed for households with children. The work addresses the dynamics that persist into adulthood: the roles that calcified in childhood, the unspoken histories, the patterns that activate when family is in the room even when everyone involved is fully grown. It's particularly suited for estrangement, reconciliation, grief, and the renegotiation of family relationships through major life transitions.
Can family therapy help with estrangement?
Yes — estrangement is one of the primary focuses of this work. Estrangement carries a particular kind of grief and complexity: the relationship exists but is inaccessible, and both sides are often operating from pain, protection, and fundamentally different accounts of what happened. The work creates a structured container for that conversation — not to force reconciliation or assign blame, but to make it possible to actually hear each other. Some families find their way back. Others arrive at a different kind of clarity. Both outcomes are valid goals.
Does everyone need to attend, or can one person come alone?
Either is possible, and the right configuration depends on what you're navigating. When both people are willing to engage, joint sessions are generally the more direct path. But one person beginning alone is also a meaningful starting point — individual work often clarifies what you're actually hoping for, and sometimes creates conditions that make it possible for the other person to engage later. A consultation call is the best place to figure out which approach makes sense for your situation.
What approaches does Francesca use in adult family therapy?
The work draws primarily from Internal Family Systems and Somatic Experiencing, with Relational Life Therapy principles integrated throughout. Internal Family Systems is particularly useful in family work because it creates a framework for understanding how each person's internal dynamics are showing up in the relational field — not just what they're saying, but what's driving it. Somatic Experiencing addresses the nervous system responses that get activated in family contexts, often before anyone has a chance to think.
Where does adult family therapy take place, and is virtual therapy available?
In-person sessions are available in Brooklyn, New York. Virtual therapy is available for clients in New York, Massachusetts, and Florida — the states in which Francesca holds clinical licensure. For family members in different locations, virtual sessions make the work logistically possible in ways that in-person alone cannot. Sessions are conducted via a HIPAA-compliant platform.
How do I start if I'm not sure my family member will be willing to participate?
Start with a consultation call. You don't need to know yet whether the other person will come — or even whether you want them to. The consultation is a space to talk through what you're actually navigating, what you've tried, and what you're hoping for. From there, Francesca can speak honestly to what the work would realistically look like and whether this is the right kind of support for your situation. Many people find that clarity alone — about what they want and what they're willing to do — is a meaningful first step.