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Marriage and Family Counseling

Healing together starts here. Find a local therapist who specializes in family counseling near Rochester, NY and make positive change possible for your family.

Henrietta, Victor, Pittsford, Penfield & Telehealth Options

NOW ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS – CALL OR REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT ONLINE

Build an Unbreakable Bond

Helping Families Reconnect Through Life’s Toughest Moments

Every marriage and family moves through seasons of closeness and conflict. That’s part of being human. But when stress lingers, communication breaks down, or a crisis like loss, illness, betrayal, or a major life change occurs, everything can feel harder to navigate.

Families don’t function as isolated individuals. They operate as connected systems, where one struggle affects everyone. At Renew Hope & Healing, we offer compassionate, system-focused counseling to help your family understand familial behavior patterns and restore balance within the family unit, so you can move forward together.

A man, woman, and young girl sit on a picnic blanket in a park, building with colorful blocks and paper on a sketchbook from Renew Hope and Healing

What Our Clients Are Saying

Leonela Stull
★★★★★
They are very compassionate, they listen and try to match you up with someone within the group suitable to your needs. It only took an email and I was called the next day, had an appointment the following week. They are so amazing that my daughter will be going here as well. I was referred by a psychiatrist and I have never felt such consideration and openly welcome embrace to help those who are seeking help. I have nothing but great things to say!
Nikki Rose
★★★★★
This is a great place for counseling, the staff are very friendly and flexible with my schedule, sometimes have to do virtual appointments when things come up and no issues, the waiting room is beautiful and relaxing and I love my therapist Crystal, she's exactly who I was hoping to work with, thank you!!
Aimee Ruscio
★★★★★
Brooke is an amazing therapist for my son. Like an angel sent from above. So down to earth, listens well and so in tune with his feelings.
Jena Caramazza
★★★★★
A wonderful practice to find healing and growth as well as support and validation. Thankful beyond words and always always recommending.
Jim Spurgeon
★★★★★
Very impressed with Jeff Young. He is very conscientious in helping his patients deal with or overcome whatever conditions they might be seeing him for.
Joe Varga
★★★★★
Great people! Helpful reception and caring therapists.
A woman and a child sit at a table drawing and coloring with markers and colored pencils, smiling and engaged in a creative activity from Renew Hope and Healing

Benefits of Marriage and Family Counseling

When you work with your family as a whole, change ripples through every relationship. Marriage and family counseling looks at patterns (not blame) to help everyone understand how their actions affect one another.

With expert guidance and support, you can start to:

  • Improve communication across the family
  • Reduce ongoing conflict and emotional tension
  • Create healthier rules and boundaries
  • Strengthen emotional bonds and rebuild trust
  • Find support through crises and life transitions
  • Gain practical tools everyone can use between sessions

Is Marriage and Family Counseling Right for You?

If your family is facing unresolved conflict, struggling to make important decisions, or having difficulty setting and keeping healthy boundaries, support may be needed. Major events like a death, betrayal, serious illness, job loss, addiction, or caring for aging parents can shake even the strongest families. Parenting challenges and daily dysfunction can add to this strain.

Feeling overwhelmed in the face of life’s toughest moments is normal. When the family system feels stuck, marriage and family counseling can be the next step toward restoring balance and healing together.

From Renew Hope and Healing: Two adults sit closely with a young girl on their laps, reading a book together in a well-lit, modern home—a warm moment that reflects the supportive bond often fostered through family counseling.
From Renew Hope and Healing: A man with a clipboard talks to a young girl on a couch while another child sits nearby in a chair, illustrating a Family Counseling session.

How Family Counseling Differs from Individual Therapy

Marriage and family counseling looks beyond one person’s struggles to understand how everyone in the family affects one another. Instead of focusing only on individual goals, your therapist advocates for the health of the entire marriage or family system. This systems approach helps create changes that last, because the patterns between you shift rather than the feelings of one person. Individual therapy still has its place, and at times, personal concerns may be addressed separately to better support the family’s progress.

In family counseling, the work often includes:

  • Viewing the family as one connected system
  • Identifying patterns that affect everyone
  • Strengthening roles, rules, and boundaries
  • Supporting change that benefits the whole family
  • Creating shared goals for healthier relationships

What to Expect During Your First Session

Your first session is a chance to slow things down and breathe. It’s a warm, confidential, and neutral space where every voice matters and no one is blamed. Your therapist will focus on family dynamics and behavior patterns to help you see how everyone’s experiences connect.

Using evidence-based family therapy approaches, the goal is to understand what’s happening beneath the surface and begin shaping healthier ways forward. During your first family therapy appointment, you may:

  • Share concerns and your family’s story or background
  • Identify interaction patterns that cause tension
  • Discuss recent crises or ongoing stressors
  • Set goals for your family or marriage
  • Create a plan for future appointments together
From Renew Hope and Healing: A man and woman sit on a couch talking with a professional woman holding a clipboard, suggesting a marriage and family therapy session in a bright room.
From Renew Hope and Healing: A man holding a toddler sits at a table next to a woman; they are smiling at each other in a bright kitchen setting. An apple is on the table, reflecting the warmth often found after couples counseling sessions.

How to Get the Most Out of Marriage and Family Counseling

Family counseling works best when everyone shows up with honesty and openness. Real change grows at home, too, as you practice new communication tools between sessions. It takes willingness to listen, adjust, and support one another, even when it’s hard.

Remember, this is a team effort. When each person leans in, shared effort builds trust, steadier routines, and healthier family functioning over time.

Marriage and Family Counseling in Rochester, NY, and Surrounding Areas

Compassionate, evidence-based support is available in Rochester and surrounding areas like Victor, Henrietta, Pittsford, and Penfield. We also offer telehealth options for marriage and family counseling.

From Renew Hope and Healing: A family of four sits together on a white sofa, with two adults and two children, all wearing light-colored clothing, smiling and interacting—radiating the harmony that family counseling can help nurture.

Family Therapy for Conflict and Communication

We support families facing conflict and communication breakdowns by helping them learn healthier ways to talk, listen, and respond, so tension eases, understanding grows, and the home becomes a place of respect and stability.

From Renew Hope and Healing: A man and a woman sit on a couch, talking and facing each other during marriage counseling, while another person sits across from them, partially visible.

Marriage Counseling Within Family Systems

Work on your marriage while honoring your entire family system. Strengthen partnership, rebuild trust, improve communication, and create newfound stability that supports children, extended family, and the relationships that matter most.

From Renew Hope and Healing: A woman sits on a couch looking down with her hands under her chin, while a man beside her looks at her and gestures with his hand during a couples counseling session.

Find Support After Loss or Major Crises

Find support after loss, crisis, illness, or major life events. We can help your family process grief, rebuild routines, and move forward together with compassion and a renewed sense of hope.

From Renew Hope and Healing: Three people sit on a couch in a living room—a man, a woman, and a boy holding a tablet as they talk, perhaps during family counseling. In the background, the kitchen area is visible.

Parenting and Behavioral Support

Get guidance for parenting challenges and behavior concerns by learning how to build consistent boundaries, improve communication, and support children and teens as they grow emotionally, socially, and academically within a healthier family environment.

From Renew Hope and Healing: Three people, an older man holding a TV remote, a younger man, and a young girl, sit together on a sofa indoors, smiling at the camera—capturing the warmth often found in family counseling sessions.

Mental Health and Addiction Support

We also support families facing mental health struggles or addiction by reducing shame, encouraging accountability, and creating a united plan that promotes healing, safety, and stability for every member involved.

From Renew Hope and Healing: A woman, a young girl holding a tablet, and a man sit together on a gray couch, smiling—capturing a warm moment that reflects the supportive environment of family counseling.

Telehealth Marriage and Family Counseling

Access marriage and family counseling from home through secure telehealth sessions that offer flexibility, privacy, and consistent support. That way, your family can stay connected and engaged in care despite busy schedules.

Insurance & Billing Made Simple

Accessing marriage and family counseling shouldn’t be complicated, and the Renew Hope & Healing team is here to make it as easy as possible.

We accept most major insurances, including Aetna, Excellus/Blue Cross Blue Shield, MVP, Fidelis, Child Health Plus, and UnitedHealthcare/Optum. Medicaid managed care plans (Excellus, MVP) are also accepted.

Not covered? Ask us about self-pay options and out-of-network reimbursement with a Superbill.

Email billing@renewhopeandhealing.com with any questions. We’re happy to help.

View Our Rates & Insurance Options

Start Today: Marriage and Family Counseling

Take the first step toward healthier family relationships. Start building stronger connections together through supportive, compassionate marriage and family counseling in Rochester today.

Visit us in Henrietta, Victor, Pittsford, or Penfield New York.

Call 585-398-8835 or request an appointment online.

Ready to get started?

Marriage and Family Counseling

There is a time and a place for marriage & family counseling

Marriages and families function more like a “system” or an “institution” than individuals do. Families are interconnected and interdependent. Two, three, or four, etc., people are as one whole. Subsequently, in therapy, we treat marriages and families differently from individuals.

Marriage & family counseling is designed to address when your marriage or family has unresolvable conflict, is unable to make important decisions, has difficulty setting agreeable rules and boundaries, has had a major crisis, death, betrayal, or significant life event, and/or has difficulty functioning day to day.

Some examples of situations where it was helpful for us to provide marriage and family therapy are:

  • After the death of a close family member
  • During a marital crisis: a serious medical condition in the family
  • Loss of job or unemployment
  • A significant mental health condition
  • Misuse of alcohol or drugs, or any significant addiction
  • Caring for aging parents
  • Unmanageable parenting situations.

How is marriage and family counseling different from individual therapy?

During individual counseling, the therapist has the individual’s mental health as the primary goal, while in contrast, during marriage & family counseling, the therapist has the primary goal is the mental health of the marriage “system” or the family “system”. Instead of working towards individual goals, the therapist’s role is to advocate for the marriage or the family. So, for example, if an individual’s behaviors or mental health are blocking the success of the marriage or family’s goals, then the individual would be asked to address those issues separately with another therapist to become stronger and more productive for the marriage and family.

If you see your situation described above, the good news is that there is practical help for you

According to research done by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, families and couples who have attended family or couples therapy sessions indicate high levels of patient satisfaction. Over 98 percent of those surveyed reported that they received good or excellent couples therapy, and over 97 percent of those surveyed said they got the help they needed. After working with a marriage or family therapist, 93 percent of patients said they had more effective tools for dealing with their problems.”

1 https://guidedoc.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-statistics-facts – Does Marriage Counseling Work? 8 Surprising Statistics & Facts, GuideDoc Health Inc.

When seeking therapy, it is helpful to keep in mind that Research in Family Therapy was posted on April 16, 2011, by Richard Niolon Ph.D,. cited a study:

“Family and/or couples therapy may be appropriate for:

  • Schizophrenia
  • Depression in distressed marriages
  • Marital distress
  • Adult substance abuse
  • Adolescent conduct disorders and substance abuse
  • Anorexia in adolescents
  • Childhood autism
  • Aggression and noncompliance in ADHD children
  • Dementia
  • Cardiovascular risk factors

and is better than no treatment for all of the above, in addition to

  • Obesity
  • Hypertension
  • Child Conduct Disorder
  • Chronic illness in childhood”2

What Renew Hope and Healing has to offer

We have convenient hours for those who need appointments after school, work, or extracurricular activities.

We accept most insurances. See here for more information about payment/insurance. We will work with people who have a financial hardship.

We have offices in Victor, Henrietta, Pittsford, and Penfield, NY. We also provide telehealth.

Our licensed therapists have years of experience helping struggling families.

NEXT STEPS

  1. If what you are dealing with is strictly a marriage issue, then you may want to go to the Couples Counseling page to get more information on treatment and options.
  2. Call us at 585-398-8835 for a consult or an appointment, or schedule one online.

Renew Hope and Healing

Locations in Victor, Henrietta, Pittsford and Penfield.

Also servicing surrounding areas such as: Canandaigua, Farmington, Clifton Springs, Geneva, Shortsville, Macedon, Palmyra, Perinton, Fairport, and Bloomfield.

REFERENCES

1 Does Marriage Counseling Work? 8 Surprising Statistics & Facts, Guide Doc Health Inc. © 2016, Sited October 5, 2016.

2 Research in Family Therapy, Posted on April 16, 2011 by Richard Niolon, Ph.D. on PsychPage. Sited October 6, 2016.