When a close family starts to feel out of sync
Magnolia Park is one of the neighborhoods families think of when they picture life in the Coppell area: quiet streets, kids on bikes, neighbors who wave from the driveway. It is the kind of place people choose for stability. That is part of why it can feel so disorienting when the inside of your own home becomes tense.
Maybe dinner has turned into a negotiation about phones. Maybe you and your partner have opposite instincts about curfews, grades or consequences, and the kids have learned exactly which parent to ask. Maybe a child who used to be easygoing now melts down over small things. None of this means your family is failing. It usually means the family's patterns have not caught up with what everyone needs now.
Dr. Audrey Kteily works with families in Magnolia Park and across the Coppell area, where her long-standing practice is based. All sessions take place online by secure video, so getting help does not require coordinating a car ride for four people.
When parents disagree: a common starting point
Many families begin with a version of the same story. One parent leans toward structure and firm rules; the other leans toward flexibility and connection. Both have good reasons. But when the differences play out in front of the kids, children get mixed messages, and every rule becomes something to argue about.
Family therapy does not pick a winner. Instead, Dr. Audrey helps parents:
- Understand where each of their parenting instincts came from, often their own childhoods
- Agree on a short list of household rules they will both enforce
- Decide in advance how to handle the predictable flashpoints, such as screens, homework and bedtimes
- Disagree privately and present a united front to the kids
- Repair after a blow-up so children see conflict resolved, not just stopped
Consider a familiar example. A middle schooler asks to stay out later on a Friday. One parent says yes, the other says no, and within minutes the argument is between the adults rather than about the curfew. The child walks away with no clear answer and a lesson that rules are negotiable. In therapy, parents learn to pause in moments like this, step aside to decide together, and return with one answer. Small changes like that, repeated over weeks, can change the feel of a household.
Parents do not have to agree on everything for this to work. They only need to agree on how they will handle disagreement, and that is a skill that can be learned.
Some of this work happens in parent-only sessions. If you want to understand that format better, read how parent counseling improves parenting skills.
What happens in family therapy sessions?
Dr. Audrey's doctoral training is in Family Studies, and her primary lens is family systems counseling. In practice, that means she pays close attention to how each person's behavior affects everyone else. A child's tantrums, a teen's withdrawal and a parent's frustration are treated as connected pieces of one picture.
Sessions are conversational and active. Dr. Audrey may ask family members to describe the same recent argument from their own point of view, then slow it down to show where it went off course. She may coach a parent and teen through a hard conversation in real time, or give the family a small experiment to try during the week. When strong emotions are part of the picture, she may teach skills from dialectical behavior therapy, in which she is C-DBT certified.
Common reasons Magnolia Park families reach out include:
- Frequent arguing or a home that feels tense most evenings
- A child or teen with anxiety, depression, ADHD or school stress
- Sibling conflict that has gone beyond normal squabbles
- Divorce, remarriage or the adjustment of a blended family
- Grief after the loss of a grandparent, parent or close friend
- A young adult who has moved back home and roles feel unclear
For a broader overview, see what a family counselor does for families in Coppell. Dr. Audrey also treats concerns such as autism spectrum needs, sensory processing and behavioral disorders, listed on her other specialties page.
How does confidentiality work when teens and parents are both involved?
This is one of the first questions parents of teenagers ask, and it deserves a clear answer at the start of therapy. Dr. Audrey explains the ground rules to both the teen and the parents in the first session, so nobody is surprised later.
In general, teens need to know that what they share privately will not be repeated word for word to their parents. That trust is what allows them to talk honestly about friendships, dating, identity or worries they are embarrassed about. Parents, in turn, need to know they will be told if there is a serious safety concern. Within those limits, Dr. Audrey helps teens decide what they want to share with their parents and often supports them in saying it themselves.
Dr. Audrey works with teens ages 12 to 18 and has a dedicated page on adolescent issues. Parents of Coppell-area teens may also find this article on teen counseling for Coppell adolescents helpful.
Online sessions for Magnolia Park families
Every session takes place over a secure, HIPAA-compliant video platform. You receive a link that opens in your browser; there is no app to download. Families often gather around a laptop in the living room, while a teen might join from their own room for an individual session.
Dr. Audrey is a Texas Licensed Professional Counselor-Supervisor and can work with anyone who is physically in Texas during a session. Appointments are scheduled flexibly on Central Time. Because each person can join from their own device, a parent at the office or a college student away at school in Texas can still take part.
Working online also offers a kind of privacy that matters in a neighborhood where people know each other. You will not run into anyone from down the street in a waiting room, and nobody sees a familiar car parked outside a counseling office.
About Dr. Audrey Kteily
Dr. Audrey studied at Texas Woman's University for both her Bachelor's in Psychology and her PhD in Family Studies, and earned a Master's in Counseling at Dallas Baptist University. Licensed as a Texas LPC since 2001 and as an LPC-Supervisor since 2004, she also holds licenses in New Jersey (LPC) and New York (LMHC). She is a Certified Family Life Educator through the National Council on Family Relations, C-DBT certified through Evergreen Certifications, and a published author on family dynamics, with more than two decades of clinical work. Her practice is LGBTQ+-friendly and LGBTQ+-owned.
Read her full story on the About Dr. Audrey page or learn more about the practice. For background reading on family mental health, the American Psychological Association, the American Counseling Association, the National Association of Social Workers and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention all publish useful resources.
Next steps for your family
Dr. Audrey is an out-of-network provider. She gives clients a superbill that can be submitted for possible out-of-network reimbursement, so it is worth checking your out-of-network mental health benefits first. You can send a general question through Ask Dr. Audrey or fill out the request form on the main page.
The quickest way to begin is a text. Keep health details out of it; just say you are a Magnolia Park family interested in family therapy, and she will respond within one business day.
Request a Magnolia Park family session, or text or call (917) 905-3183.