Family Therapy in Denver and Across Colorado, by Video

Dinner in a Littleton kitchen has turned into a negotiation. The fourteen-year-old answers in single words, the eleven-year-old picks a fight with whoever is closest, and the two parents have started handling the evening in shifts so neither one has to be in the room for all of it. Nobody is in crisis. Everybody is tired, and everyone suspects it is somebody else’s fault. (This is an illustration drawn from what families commonly describe, not a real client.)

To start, contact us or check your insurance. Family therapy in Colorado is by secure video, anywhere in the state, with Csilla Hajnal, MS, LPC, LMFT. It sits alongside our family therapy, teen therapy, couples therapy, parenting education and medication management services. We offer family therapy in Colorado, Florida, New York, North Carolina and South Carolina, plus five more states (full list below).

Family Counseling by Video, From Denver to the Western Slope

All of our Colorado sessions are online. Our Greenwood Village address is 7350 East Progress Place, Suite 100, but families meet with us from home: Denver, Aurora, Lakewood, Littleton, Centennial, Highlands Ranch, Boulder, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs and mountain towns where a family therapist can be an hour’s drive away. Everyone joining needs to be in Colorado at the time of the session.

Video turns out to suit family work better than many parents expect. There is no getting three schedules and two cars to the same place by five o’clock, and a teenager who would sit silently in an office will sometimes talk more from their own room. Family members can join from one screen or from separate devices in different rooms, or a parent can join from work while the rest of the family is home.

Working With Csilla Hajnal

Csilla Hajnal, MS, LPC, LMFT, holds both a counseling license and a marriage and family therapy license, and she is the clinician who sees Colorado families. Her work draws on the Nurtured Heart Approach, which shifts a family’s attention toward what is going right rather than staying locked on what a child is doing wrong, and on Internal Family Systems, which helps each person see the protective parts behind the behavior that drives everyone else up the wall.

She works with parents and children together, with teens, with preteens ages 11 and 12, and with adult families: grown children and their parents trying to renegotiate a relationship that never quite updated. Couples work in Colorado is with Csilla or Lisa Abrotsky, LMFT, if the parents need time of their own alongside the family sessions.

What Brings Colorado Families In

• Constant conflict between a parent and a teen, or between siblings
• A child or teen who is anxious, withdrawn or angry, and the family has run out of ideas
• Separation, divorce or remarriage, and the job of building a blended household
• A parent’s illness, job loss or move that has unsettled everyone
• Grief after a death in the family
• Adult children and parents stuck in old roles, or disagreeing about an aging parent’s care
• A teen with an eating disorder, and parents who want to help without making it worse

For families facing an eating disorder, Csilla works with parents and families of teens, and we recommend a nutritionist when nutrition support would help; we do not provide nutrition counseling in house. The National Alliance for Eating Disorders helpline, 1-888-375-7767, offers weekday support and is not a crisis line.

How Family Sessions Are Structured

The first session is an intake, usually with the parents or the adults who asked for help. It covers what has been happening, what has already been tried, and who should be in the room going forward. Later sessions might include everyone, a parent and one child, or the adults alone, depending on what will move things. Sessions are 45 to 50 minutes, and there is no set number of them.

The aim is rarely to name a culprit. It is to see the pattern everyone is caught in, for instance a parent who lectures because the teen goes quiet and a teen who goes quiet because the parent lectures, and then to practice something different at home between sessions.

Not sure who should come to the first session? Call (720) 263-0028 or send us a message and tell us a little about your family. We will suggest where to start.

When a Child May Also Need Medication

Colorado is one of the three states where we can prescribe. Sima Alavi, ARNP, DNP, a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner, offers medication management by telehealth for adults and for children and teens. ADHD medication is non-stimulant only. Whether medication makes sense is decided at a psychiatric evaluation, never assumed. Our Colorado medication management page explains how it works.

When Family Sessions Are Not the Place to Start

If anyone in the family is being hurt, threatened or controlled, joint sessions are not the right step, and we will help you think about safety first. If you are in danger, call 911. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is 1-800-799-7233. If a child or adult is thinking about suicide, call or text 988 at any hour.

Insurance and Fees in Colorado

Colorado plans we are in network with: Aetna, Cigna, UnitedHealthcare (including UMR plans), Blue Cross Blue Shield, Tricare, First Choice Health, Carelon, Denver Health and Select Health. Medicare and Medicaid are not accepted. Benefits differ from plan to plan, so send your details through our insurance verification form and we will email you what your coverage looks like within a couple of hours.

Self-pay is $125 per individual session and $175 for couples, family or EMDR sessions, each 45 to 50 minutes, and $200–$250 for an extended 90-minute individual, couples or EMDR session. You can pay with an HSA or FSA card, and if you have out-of-network benefits, we will give you a superbill to submit. Self-pay clients can also ask for a Good Faith Estimate before starting. Most new clients are seen within a week.

Common Questions

Is there a family therapist near me in Denver or Greenwood Village?

Our Colorado family therapy is by secure video, so you can work with us from anywhere in the state, including Denver, Greenwood Village and the surrounding suburbs. Our address is in Greenwood Village, but sessions are not held there.

Does my teenager have to come?

Not at first. Some families start with the parents alone and bring a reluctant teen in once there is a plan. Csilla can also see the teen individually for part of the work.

Do you work with adult children and their parents?

Yes. Csilla sees adult families by video, which also makes it possible for siblings in different Colorado towns to join the same session.

Does insurance pay for family therapy?

Often, though plans vary in how they cover family sessions. Send your plan details through our verification form and we will tell you what to expect before the first appointment.

Where We Work

All Colorado sessions are by secure video. We are licensed in twelve states: Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina and Tennessee. You can read about the clinicians who work here.

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