My therapeutic philosophy
Welcome! My name is Brittany Williams, and I’m a Marriage and Family Therapist. Many people hear that title and immediately picture a couple who’s encountered a crisis or conflict in their romantic relationship. Or, as one of my brothers said when I told him about my plans to pursue this career, “How are you going to be a Marriage and Family Therapist when you’re not married and you don’t have a family.” What my brother failed to understand in that moment is that we are all part of “family” systems, both biological and chosen, that weave together threads that form the tapestry of our individual selves. No person exists without the influence of other humans, be it our parents, siblings, non-familial caregivers, romantic partners, religious communities, or cultural traditions passed between generations. No person can fully be known without acknowledging the effects of relational, cultural, and social forces on our lives.
As a Marriage and Family Therapist, my approach to therapy is wholistic and systemic. Every person, child or adult, who walks in my office, is part of various systems within their lives. They walk in carrying the stress of relationships at home or school, the weight of family or religious expectations, and the history and customs of their ancestors. Part of my work is to help each person uncover and untangle both the overt and covert influences of each system so they may be addressed in whatever way the client sees fit.
During a talk I gave about mental health to a group of high school boarding students, I acknowledged each student was living on campus in physical separation from their families. However, when I asked if their families still had influence on their daily lives, in ways both helpful and challenging, they all seemed to come alive with understanding. As their eyes met mine, many nodded their heads vehemently, having experienced the first-hand effects of living within a family system, even when the system does not always exist under one roof, or sometimes in the same state or even country.
This anecdote is an illustration of why I consider myself a “Bowenian” intergenerational therapist, often basing my client conceptualization on the work of Murray Bowen. I integrate many of Bowen’s interventions and theories including genograms, identifying multigenerational patterns, assessing levels of differentiation and triangulation, and verbal processing into session. I also introduce interventions that draw from an array of modalities, including imaginary play, psychoeducation, mindfulness, sand tray, art, and more.
My work is also heavily influenced by John Bowlby’s attachment theory to assess the attachment bonds that children form with their caregivers, Mary Ainsworth’s theories of varying attachment styles, and Sue Johnson’s research around our replication of childhood attachment styles within adult relationships. All of my work is trauma-informed and incorporates the newest research around Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), childhood brain development, and neurobiology. Dan Siegal’s writings, such as The Whole-Brain Child, are especially instrumental in how I teach children and caregivers about forming healthy relationships and coping skills.
No matter the age, these theories are helpful in forming the work my clients and I do together, and I hope that in this initial introduction, you learned a bit more about my approach to the therapeutic process. I will go more in depth about additional modalities, theories, and interventions in subsequent posts. You can read more about my approach to individual and family therapy by clicking the links below.
