Parents & teens at odds
Slammed doors, the silent treatment, rules nobody agrees on, and a teenager who talks to everyone but you. More on teens →
Family Counseling · Prairieville & Baton Rouge
Family counseling for a house where everyone is talking and nobody is heard.
Families rarely arrive because of one person. They arrive because the same conflict has worn a groove in everyone, because a loss knocked the household sideways, or because two people under one roof have stopped being able to talk at all. I'm Melissa Shaw, a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with more than 24 years of experience working with families of every shape.
- Confidential, in person
- Toddlers through grandparents
- Accepting new families
What families work on
Common reasons families call
Blended families
Two histories under one roof, stepparent roles, loyalty binds, and children shuttling between houses with different rules.
Sibling conflict
Fighting that has stopped being normal, one child taking up all the oxygen, and the sibling who quietly disappears.
Grief in the family
A death or diagnosis that hit everyone differently, when one person wants to talk and another cannot. More on grief →
Divorce & separation
Telling the children, two households, and keeping them out of the middle without pretending nothing changed.
Adult children & aging parents
Caregiving decisions, old roles resurfacing, siblings disagreeing about a parent, and boundaries between grown family members.
How family sessions work
Everyone heard, nobody on trial
Family sessions are not about deciding who the problem is. They're about seeing the pattern the family has fallen into, the one where each person's reaction sets off the next, and finding a different move for everyone.
Who comes to a session changes as we go. Sometimes it's the whole household, sometimes a parent and one child, sometimes the parents alone. I'll tell you what I think would help, and you decide what your family can manage.
Because I also see children, teens, adults and couples, your family doesn't have to be split across several offices repeating the story to different people. If a family member needs individual work, that can happen here too.
Outside the office, I've been married 24 years and I'm raising four children, so the conversations that happen in this room are not theoretical to me.
- Family Systems
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy
- Strength-Based
- Christian Counseling (on request)
Practical details
Sessions, fees and location
$160Individual session
$280Family or couples session
15 minComplimentary consultation
A small number of reduced-fee time slots may be available. They are limited, set at specific times, require documentation of income, and often have a waiting list, so please ask at your consultation. I don't bill insurance, and I accept cash or check.
Office hours
- Monday
- 8:00 am – 7:00 pm
- Tuesday
- 1:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Thursday
- 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
- Friday
- 9:00 am – 1:00 pm (alternating weeks)
After-school and early-evening times work best when children are part of the session.
Location
15655 Airline Hwy
Prairieville, LA 70769
Serving Prairieville, Gonzales, St. Amant and Baton Rouge, including the Highland Road area. All sessions are held in person, a short drive down Airline Highway.
Questions
Families usually ask
Does the whole family have to come?
No. We decide together who comes to each session, and it often changes as the work goes on. Parents alone is a perfectly good place to start.
Will you take sides?
No. My job is to make sure each person feels heard and to name the pattern the family is stuck in, not to declare who is right.
My teenager refuses to come. Is it still worth it?
Yes. Parents can start without them, and what changes at home often brings a reluctant teen in later.
Can you help with a blended family?
Yes. Stepparent roles, two sets of rules, loyalty binds and co-parenting across households are common work here.
What about adult children and aging parents?
That is family work too: caregiving decisions, old roles resurfacing, and siblings who disagree about a parent’s care.
Do you take insurance?
No. I'm private pay and accept cash or check. Family sessions are $280 and individual sessions are $160. A small number of reduced-fee time slots may be available with documentation of income. They are limited and may have a waiting list.
Contact
Let's talk about your family
Reach out to request a complimentary 15-minute consultation. One person can make the call for the whole family. I'll get back to you as soon as I can, usually within one business day.
To protect your privacy, please don't include detailed health information in this form. We can talk about that on the phone.