Family Conflict
Therapy for family conflict and difficult family relationships for adults navigating what they grew up in — and what they're still carrying. In-person in Northbrook and online across Illinois and PSYPACT states.
Family conflict therapy in Northbrook, IL
Bedrock Psychology Group helps adults work through family conflict, estrangement, and patterns carried from their family of origin, mainly in individual therapy using evidence-based approaches. Sessions are in person at our Northbrook office or by telehealth across Illinois, and in PSYPACT states with select clinicians. We're in-network with BCBS PPO and Aetna. To start, call (773) 389-2352 or send us a message.
What is family conflict?
Family conflict in adults covers a wide range: chronic tension with a parent or sibling, estrangement, the legacy of a difficult or dysfunctional family of origin, co-parenting conflict, and the ways that family patterns show up in current relationships. What most of these have in common is that they're persistent, often repeating, and deeply resistant to resolution by effort alone.
Family conflict tends to be more emotionally activated than other kinds of conflict because the stakes are higher. These are the relationships where identity was formed, where the earliest wounds were sustained, and where the deepest needs for connection and acceptance live.
Signs and symptoms
Recurring conflict with family members despite attempts to resolve it. Difficulty maintaining appropriate distance or closeness with family — either too enmeshed or too cut off. A sense of reverting to a younger version of yourself in family interactions. Persistent guilt or obligation that overrides your own needs or preferences. Difficulty setting or maintaining limits with family members. Estrangement that is either chosen or imposed and carries significant emotional weight. Patterns in your adult relationships that you can trace back to your family of origin.
How this affects your life
Family patterns are portable. The attachment styles, conflict strategies, and relational templates formed in the family of origin tend to reproduce themselves in adult relationships — in marriages, friendships, workplaces, and in how we parent our own children. Addressing family conflict isn't just about managing specific relationships; it's about interrupting patterns that otherwise replicate across contexts.
Our approach at Bedrock
Family conflict work at Bedrock is done primarily through individual therapy. We work with what you bring into the room — your history, your patterns, your current relationships — and help you develop both a clearer understanding of how those dynamics formed and more intentional choices about how to respond to them going forward. The goal isn't to fix your family. It's to change your relationship to what they've handed you.
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Meet our therapists
What happens when you reach out
Schedule a free consultation
A quick call or email so we can hear what’s going on and answer your questions. Then we’ll match you with the therapist who fits best. No cost, no commitment.
Schedule directly with your therapist
From there, your therapist reaches out personally to get you set up on our client portal and book your first session. Going forward, you’ll work directly with your therapist, not a call center or front desk.
Begin treatment
Start working with your therapist, in person in Northbrook or online. The first few sessions are for getting to know each other and understanding what you want to work on.
You've been thinking about this long enough
Tell us a little about what's going on. We usually reply within a few hours, and always within one business day.
