Family life in Parkwood and the Coppell area
Parkwood families in the Coppell area often look like this: two working parents, at least one of them with a job that involves travel or long hours, children in demanding schools and activities, and a calendar that leaves little room for anything unplanned. Some families are also managing two households after a divorce, with children moving between homes on a weekly schedule.
When stress builds in a family like that, it rarely has a single source. A teen's anxiety, a parent's exhaustion and a disagreement about rules can all feed each other. Family therapy gives everyone a structured place to sort that out, instead of having the same argument in the car on the way to practice.
Dr. Audrey Kteily has a long-standing practice address in Coppell and has worked with North Texas families for more than two decades. Her practice is now entirely online, which removes the hardest part for busy families: getting everyone to the same place at the same time.
Co-parenting and families living in two homes
Divorce and separation change the shape of a family without ending it. Children still need both parents to work as a team, even when the parents no longer live together. Common challenges include different rules in each house, children carrying messages between parents, tension at handoffs, and adjusting to a new partner or stepsiblings.
Online sessions are especially useful here. Each parent can join from their own home, which keeps things calmer and avoids the awkwardness of sitting in the same waiting room. Dr. Audrey helps co-parents agree on the basics, communicate more respectfully, and keep children out of adult conflicts. Children can join some sessions from whichever home they are in that week.
For blended families, she works on roles: how a stepparent builds trust, how siblings from two families share space, and how parents keep traditions from both sides without anyone feeling replaced.
What makes a family systems approach different?
Dr. Audrey's PhD is in Family Studies, and her specialty is family systems counseling. The idea is straightforward: a family works like a system, so a change in one person affects everyone else. Instead of asking only "what is wrong with this child," family systems therapy asks what is happening between people that keeps a problem going.
That shift often relieves blame. A teenager labeled as "the difficult one" may be reacting to tension between parents. A parent who seems overly strict may be compensating for a partner who avoids conflict. When everyone can see the pattern, it becomes possible to change it together. Her article on what a family counselor does for Coppell-area families explains this in practical terms, and the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy offers general information on systemic family therapy.
Issues she commonly addresses
- Communication breakdowns and frequent conflict
- Co-parenting disagreements and blended family adjustments
- Children with ADHD, autism spectrum traits or behavioral disorders
- Teen anxiety, depression, self-harm and school stress
- Grief and loss within the family
- Recovery from domestic violence or other trauma
- Addiction affecting family members
Teens and parents in Parkwood families
Teenagers ages 12 to 18 often carry more than parents realize, especially in high-achieving communities. Dr. Audrey works with teens individually and alongside their families. Teens get private time to talk about school, friends, identity and pressure. Parents get specific guidance on how to respond, when to step back and when to step in.
Read more on her adolescent issues page or in her post on teen counseling for Coppell teens. If you mainly want help with your own parenting, see how parent counseling can help.
For teens who struggle with intense emotions or self-harm, she uses Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills; she is C-DBT certified. Her other specialties include trauma, PTSD, mood disorders and life transitions. If you are in crisis, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or 911. The practice does not provide crisis services.
The practice is LGBTQ+-friendly and LGBTQ+-owned and aligned with GLSEN and the Human Rights Campaign.
What happens in the first month of family therapy?
The opening session is a conversation about your family as a whole: who lives where, how a typical week runs, what has been hardest lately, and what each person would like to be different. Dr. Audrey listens for the patterns behind the complaints. Families sometimes arrive expecting a verdict on who is at fault, and leave with a clearer picture of how everyone has been caught in the same loop.
The next few sessions usually focus on lowering the temperature. That might mean a simple agreement about how to pause an argument before it escalates, a weekly check-in between co-parents, or a new routine for the hardest hour of the day, often the stretch between school pickup and dinner. These early changes are small on purpose. They build enough calm to tackle deeper issues.
By the end of the first month, most families have a shared set of goals and a sense of how sessions will be structured going forward, including which ones involve the whole family and which are for parents or a teen alone. Goals are revisited regularly so the plan keeps matching what your family actually needs.
How online family sessions work
Sessions take place over secure, HIPAA-compliant video. Each participant gets a link that opens in a browser, with nothing to install. Because Parkwood is in Texas, you are seen under her Texas LPC-S license, with appointments set in Central Time. Everyone who joins needs to be physically in Texas, New Jersey or New York during the session.
That flexibility means a parent can join from an office near DFW Airport, the other parent from home, and a college student from a Texas campus. A parent traveling for business to New York or New Jersey can still attend. Scheduling is flexible, so ask about times that work around school and activities.
For families who want to read further, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and SAMHSA provide general mental health information, and the Cochrane Library publishes reviews of research on family and child interventions.
About Dr. Audrey Kteily
Dr. Audrey 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 Texas Licensed Professional Counselor since 2001 and a Supervisor since 2004, and she also holds a New Jersey LPC and a New York LMHC. She is a Certified Family Life Educator through the National Council on Family Relations, is C-DBT certified through Evergreen Certifications, and is a published author on family dynamics.
Learn more on her about page or the practice overview, or send a question to Ask Dr. Audrey.
Getting started
Fill out the request form on the home page or text the practice. Texting is the easiest option; please leave health details out of texts. You will hear back within one business day to talk through who should attend first. In co-parenting situations, it is common to start with one or both parents before including the children.
Dr. Audrey is an out-of-network provider and provides a superbill for possible insurance reimbursement. Check your out-of-network mental health benefits before starting.
Request an appointment, or text or call (917) 905-3183. Email: [email protected].