Family Therapy in Westlake Village
Family Therapy in Westlake Village with Julie Klamon, LMFT
When a family is struggling, you can feel it in every room of the house. Dinner conversations turn into arguments. Someone goes quiet and stays that way. The tension becomes the thing everyone is trying to manage, and nobody is managing it well. Family therapy gives your family a structured place to deal with what is actually going on, with a licensed professional who keeps the conversation productive instead of letting it spiral.
As a licensed marriage and family therapist with more than two decades of experience, family dynamics are at the center of my work. I have helped families through chronic conflict, divorce and co-parenting, blended-family adjustments, teen behavior that has parents at a loss, and the strain of grief or a major transition. The throughline is simple: families can change how they treat each other when they have the right support.
My office in Agoura Hills is about 5 to 10 minutes from Westlake Village on the 101. Virtual family sessions are also available for families located in California.
Family Therapy for the Westlake Village Community
Families in Westlake Village carry a particular kind of pressure. Parents work long hours or run their own businesses, kids are scheduled tight with school and activities, and the bar for how things are supposed to look stays high. When everyone is moving fast, real conversation gets squeezed out. Small resentments build. By the time a family reaches out, they often tell me they love each other but cannot seem to talk without it turning into conflict.
There is also the matter of privacy in a close, well-established community. It can feel risky to admit your family is having trouble when you see the same neighbors at the lake, the Promenade, and school events. My Agoura Hills office sits just outside the Westlake Village neighborhoods, close enough to be convenient but far enough to feel private. For families who would rather meet from home, virtual sessions work well too.
My Approach to Family Therapy
Family therapy works differently than individual therapy. Instead of focusing on one person, we look at the relationships and patterns among everyone involved. Often the trouble is not that one person is causing all the problems. It is that the family has developed habits of communicating, or not communicating, that leave everyone frustrated and unheard. My role is to help you see those patterns, understand where they came from, and start replacing them with something that actually works. You can read more on my family therapy page.
Sessions may include the whole family or different combinations of family members, depending on what we are working on. When divorce is part of the picture, I help children understand the separation is not their fault and give them healthy ways to handle their feelings, and I help parents build a steadier co-parenting relationship across two households. I keep things practical and focused. The point is not to rehash every argument from the past five years. It is to build new ways of talking so the next five years look different.
How Family Sessions Are Different
Family therapy is not the same as sending each family member to individual therapy on their own. When I work with a family, I pay attention to what happens between people, not just inside them. The way a conversation escalates, who shuts down first, how decisions get made or quietly avoided. Those patterns are often invisible to the people living inside them, but they become clear in a session. Once a family can see what they are doing, they can start doing something different. That shift is where real change happens.
Who I Work With
Children (8+)
Teens
Adults
Seniors
Frequently Asked Questions About Family Therapy in Westlake Village
Family therapy here addresses communication breakdowns, parent and teen conflict, the impact of divorce or separation, behavioral concerns in children or teens, blended-family dynamics, and the strain that builds when busy households stop really talking. Every family arrives with a different situation, and I shape the work around your specific concerns.
Individual therapy focuses on one person's experience. Family therapy looks at the relationships between family members and the patterns that have built up over time. Often the issue is not that one person is the problem but that the family has fallen into ways of communicating that leave everyone frustrated. Family therapy helps you see those patterns clearly and replace them with something that works better for everyone.
Not necessarily. Some sessions work best with the whole family present, while others are more productive with just the parents or with a parent and one child. I adjust the format based on what we are working on. The goal is always to improve how your family functions together, and that sometimes means meeting with different combinations of people.
Confidentiality is built into everything I do, and what is discussed in session stays in session within the limits required by law. My Agoura Hills office sits just outside the Westlake Village neighborhoods, which gives families a degree of separation many appreciate. You are unlikely to run into neighbors or other school parents in the waiting area, and virtual sessions are available for families who prefer to meet from home.
Yes. When a child is acting out, it is usually a signal that something in the family system needs attention. That does not mean anyone is to blame. It means the child is communicating through behavior because they do not yet have another way to express what they feel. Family therapy helps identify what is driving the behavior and gives every family member tools to respond differently. Families come to me from both the Las Virgenes and Conejo Valley school districts that serve the area.
In-Person and Virtual Family Therapy Near Westlake Village
My office in Agoura Hills, CA 91301 is a short drive from Westlake Village for in-person family therapy. I also see families from nearby communities, including Thousand Oaks, CA, Agoura Hills, CA, Oak Park, CA, Calabasas, CA, and Woodland Hills, CA. Virtual family sessions are available for families located anywhere in California.
If your family is stuck in patterns that are not working, there is a way through. Schedule a complimentary phone consultation and we can talk about what your family is dealing with and how I might help.