As Dolly Parton said, “When it’s family, you trust them and your heart’s an open door.”
No shade whatsoever to our Patron Saint Dolly, but it’s a little more complicated than that.
Family relationships are essential to our emotional wellbeing, but stuff gets in the way all the time. Trust gets broken and we close off our hearts. What kind of stuff gets in the way in families?
- Generation gap: you’re a Millennial who’s putting up the boundaries you learned about in therapy, but your parents don’t speak that language and feel hurt by your disconnection.
- Unresolved hurt: you’re an adult who’s been hurt by your parent or sibling, and the resentment has grown over the years and pushed you away.
- Cultural bias: you’re a modern parent who loves your kid very much but you just don’t understand this new flexibility around gender and how to know what’s best for them when you’re hearing so many mixed messages.
- Communication styles: you’re neurodivergent and have a different style of communication, but your family doesn’t get your brain and keeps getting mad at you.
In family therapy, differences can be worked through. Past hurts can be healed. Your relationship can be restored.
Family therapy is a space where these differences can be explored; each person can feel understood; and the underlying love can be expressed. We can work through your differences to strengthen your family’s bond.
START HERE
I am currently accepting new family therapy clients for virtual therapy in California and New York.
The process begins with a free 20-minute consultation call. Schedule your free consultation below.
Specialty Areas
Adult Estrangement
You’ve become estranged from your adult family, parent, or sibling for good reasons and are considering repair, or you’re considering one last chance for a family member who you think needs to change. Family therapy can help bridge this conversation.
Families with Teens
Teenagers are at an important developmental stage – often pushing their parents away to become their own person. I promise they still need you, just differently. Family therapy can help everyone through the teen years, a chaotic storm we can make (a bit) calmer.
LGBTQ+ Families
LGBTQ+ families face challenges from social oppression that can get in the way of relating. Parents may struggle with their child’s gender transition, or queer adults’ trauma may impact their relationships. Family therapy can unpack these biases to improve your connection.
Danni Biondini, LMFT: I’m the Gemini.
Danni Biondini (she/they) has been a Marriage & Family Therapist for over a decade: initially in her hometown of San Francisco, now working bicoastally from Brooklyn. She trained in family therapy at the Ackerman Institute for the Family in New York, NY. Additionally, she has trained in Child & Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapy at the San Francisco Center for Psychoanalysis. She worked with teenagers for years as a school-based therapist in San Francisco public high schools, where she realized the importance of involving the family for real change to begin.
Along with her clinical work, Danni teaches graduate school, currently as an adjunct professor at Brooklyn College. Formerly, she was Assistant Professor of Community Mental Health at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She has taught many classes, integrating a systems/psychodynamic/social justice perspective. Her students appreciate her emphasis on the role of developmental trauma and attachment at the origins of relational suffering. They feel mixed about her ADHD energy but generally love her fun & engaging lectures, ability to break down complex theory into accessible language, and her authenticity and Realness.
“Feelings of worth can flourish only in an atmosphere where individual differences are appreciated, mistakes are tolerated, communication is open, and rules are flexible – the kind of atmosphere that is found in a nurturing family.”
— Virginia Satir, family therapy mommy