Family therapy when your family lives in more than one home
Not every Copperstone family sits around one dinner table. Some children split the week between two houses. Some parents have remarried and are blending two sets of kids, routines and expectations. Some families have a grown child living in Austin or a grandparent who moved in after a health change. Traditional family therapy, where everyone must be in one office at one time, often falls apart under those logistics.
Dr. Audrey Kteily, PhD, LPC-S, LMHC, CFLE offers family therapy to Copperstone and other Coppell-area families entirely online. Because sessions are held by secure video, family members can join from separate locations. Her doctorate is in Family Studies, and she has worked with DFW families for over two decades, including many navigating divorce, remarriage and co-parenting.
Can family therapy help after divorce or remarriage?
Yes, and it often helps most when it starts early. Separation and remarriage change nearly everything about how a family runs: who makes decisions, where holidays happen, which rules apply in which house. Children feel those shifts even when they say they are fine. Adults may be grieving the old family while trying to build a new one.
Family therapy gives everyone a structured place to talk about those changes. It does not require parents to like each other or agree on everything. The goal is a working arrangement where children are not carrying adult conflict and every household has clear, livable expectations. If you are curious about the broader research on family and child well-being, the APA's psychology topics library and the National Library of Medicine are useful places to start.
What co-parents and stepfamilies work on in sessions
Every family is different, but some themes come up again and again:
- Communication between homes. Agreeing on how schedule changes, school updates and concerns get shared so children are not the messengers.
- Consistent expectations. Rules do not have to be identical in every house, but children do better when the big ones line up.
- The stepparent role. Figuring out how a stepparent can build a relationship with a child without stepping into discipline too fast.
- Loyalty conflicts. Helping children stop feeling that loving one parent betrays the other.
- Sibling adjustments. Stepsiblings sharing rooms, attention and holidays, often without having chosen each other.
- Grief. Making room for the loss that comes with any family change, even a change that was necessary.
Dr. Audrey uses a family systems approach, which looks at the patterns between people rather than blaming one person. Her article on what a family counselor does for Coppell families describes how that plays out in sessions.
Transition days, holidays and milestones
The handoff between houses is often the hardest part of the week. Children may be wound up before they leave and irritable after they arrive, and parents can mistake that adjustment for defiance. Sessions help families plan transitions so they feel predictable: what gets packed, how goodbyes happen, how much downtime a child needs on arrival.
Holidays, birthdays, graduations and school events bring their own strain, especially in the first few years after a separation. Talking through these ahead of time, with input from the children where it fits their age, can turn dreaded dates into manageable ones. Dr. Audrey helps parents agree on a plan and helps children say what matters most to them.
Helping kids and teens who feel caught in the middle
Children in two households often carry worries they do not voice. A teenager may act out at one house and be perfectly polite at the other. A younger child may develop stomachaches before transition days. Dr. Audrey works with teens ages 12 to 18 individually and in family sessions, giving them a private place to talk while keeping parents involved in the plan. Her adolescent counseling page lists common concerns, and her post on teen counseling for Coppell adolescents explains how teens and parents each fit into the work.
Parents can also meet with her on their own. Parent counseling offers concrete strategies for discipline, connection and handling a co-parent relationship that remains tense. Her practice is LGBTQ+-friendly and LGBTQ+-owned, so families of every shape are welcome.
Other reasons Copperstone families reach out
Blended families are only one part of her practice. Dr. Audrey also helps families dealing with a child's anxiety, depression, ADHD or autism spectrum diagnosis, school stress and performance pressure, self-harm, and recovery from trauma or PTSD. When strong emotions make every conversation explode, she teaches skills from Dialectical Behavior Therapy, in which she holds C-DBT certification. Grief, addictions, life transitions and more are covered on her other specialties page.
For general information on children's mental health, the CDC's mental health pages and Mental Health America both offer practical screening tools and guides for parents.
School can add another layer. Families in and around Coppell often feel real academic and extracurricular pressure, and a child shuttling between homes may struggle to keep track of assignments, practices and expectations. Part of family therapy can be building a shared system so school stress does not become another source of conflict between households.
Online sessions across two households
All sessions are secure, HIPAA-compliant video calls. Each participant opens the link in a web browser; there is nothing to download. A mother at home, a father at work and a teen in a quiet bedroom can all join the same session. No one has to share a car ride or sit in the same waiting room before they are ready.
- Dr. Audrey is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor. Everyone joining must be physically in Texas, New Jersey or New York during the session.
- Texas sessions are scheduled in Central Time, with flexible scheduling to work around custody calendars.
- Some families alternate between joint sessions and separate sessions for each household.
Separate video windows can also lower tension. Co-parents who struggle to be in the same room sometimes find it easier to talk productively when each is in their own space.
Questions about whether this fits your situation? Browse Ask Dr. Audrey for answers to common questions from parents.
Who you will be working with
Dr. Audrey Kteily brings more than 20 years of clinical experience. She holds a PhD in Family Studies and a Bachelor's in Psychology from Texas Woman's University and a Master's in Counseling from Dallas Baptist University. She has been a Licensed Professional Counselor in Texas since 2001 and a Supervisor since 2004, and she is licensed in New Jersey (LPC) and New York (LMHC). She is a Certified Family Life Educator through the National Council on Family Relations and a published author on family dynamics. Learn more in her detailed biography or on the meet Dr. Audrey page.
Taking the first step
You do not need both households on board before you reach out. Many families start with one parent, and others join as the work develops. Dr. Audrey will respond within one business day to talk about who might attend and find a time that works.
The practice is out of network with insurance plans. You receive a superbill to submit for possible out-of-network reimbursement; check your plan's out-of-network mental health benefits beforehand.
Use the secure appointment request form on this page or the appointment form on the home page, or text or call (917) 905-3183. Texting is easiest; please leave health details out of the message.