Hope For Families, Inc.
In Nebraska
Our mission is to provide a quality experience that helps your family develop physically, socially, and emotionally.
About Us
Meet the team. On the far left is Alan Levinson, Psy.D., in the middle is Joni Levinson, Ph.D., and Donna Johnson is on the right. We are the owners and primary educators at Hope For Families.
We are parents - which does not make us experts, but it helps!
We combine personal and professional experiences. Drs. Levinson have two developmentally delayed children with special needs. Ms. Johnson has three children and over 20 years of experience working with developmentally delayed teens and adults. We joined forces to help families in need. We started Hope For Families because of our love of children. We promise to nurture your family. We will provide families with knowledge and access to resources available in the community.
Our Philosophy
We believe that everyone deserves love, attention, and nurturing. We believe that families deserve a safe environment which allows a family room to explore and grow. We provide hands-on learning experiences. This fosters appropriate family nurturing and development. We believe that positive reinforcement is important for developing self-esteem.
Children and teens need an environment that supports free expression and stimulates learning. Most importantly, however, we believe families need to work together for success.
Hope For Families recognizes that parents may feel alone, but we are here to tell you, "You are not alone!" We recognize the importance of work, and the stress and demands placed on parents. We strive to make it easier on parents by giving them the knowledge that their children are in good hands. We are a private non-profit company who believes families may need help and sound advice.
What we do for Families
We believe in working with the entire family in finding solutions. Our goal will be to find the trouble spots and show how your family can overcome adversity. A Hope For Families team leader is likely to do the following:
1. The team leader will discuss how the family is currently working on solving problems, and then set obtainable goals. We attempt to find out what works best for each person in the family.
2. During a three to six week period of time our team will help you discover solutions.
3. If it isn't broke don't fix it! Our team wants to encourage families to continue finding success by using already existing problem solving skills.
4. The family identifies what isn't working, and then learns how to avoid becoming trapped in a cycle of problems. Again, our team will respect the current boundaries in your family. We simply find ways for you to be a stronger family unit.
5. The emphasis is on the here and now. Problems in the past cannot be change, instead we allow them to help grow a stronger family unit.
6. We believe you are the expert about what it takes to change your family.
7. Your family may have barriers preventing you from reaching your goals, and our job will be on your side building a stronger family.
Hope For Families team will be considers educators not therapists. We work with your family in discovering some of the events preventing family success, and then work on uncovering family strengths. The two key tools in helping a family are: (1) how the client wants his or her life to be different, and (2) what it will take to make it happen.
Creating a detailed picture of what it will be like when life is better creates a feeling of hope, and this makes the solution seem possible. The team focus is making your family stronger, more capable of solving ongoing issues. It is important to develop a set of specific, detailed goals. These goals drive the process and keep it focused and efficient.
Focusing on your goals and the concrete steps needed to achieve them usually takes less time than traditional methods. Team leaders aim to provide your family with the most effective solution in the most efficient way possible so that family members can achieve their goals and get on with their lives. As a result of this focus, the process often requires as few weeks, not years.
Types of Problems
Hope for Families educational techniques are an effective way of helping people solve many kinds of problems, including depression, verbal discord, relationship problems, and many other kinds of issues. Since we focus on the process of change rather than on dissecting the problem, families can find more immediate help for their situation. Our job is to help families transform troubling issues into specific goals and an action plan for achieving them.
The solution focused approach is the key to your family success. You will be asked to do some of the following:
1. State your desire for something in your life to be different.
2. Envision that a miracle happens and your life is different.
3. Make sure the miracle is important to you.
4. Keep the miracle small.
5. Define the change with language that is positive, specific, concrete, and behavioral.
6. State how you will start your journey rather than how you will end it.
7. Be clear about who, where, and when, but not why.
Signs That You Should Consider Seeing a Therapist
Your team leader will assess what might be best for the family members. We encourage finding a licensed, professional therapist to work with if;
1. You've tried several things on your own, but you still have the problem.
2. You have thoughts of harming yourself or others.
3. You have symptoms of depression, anxiety, or another disorder that significantly interfere with your daily functioning and the quality of your life. For example, you have lost time from work, your relationships have been harmed, or your health is suffering. These are signs that you need the help of a trained, licensed professional.
A team leader using solution focused techniques will attempt to do the following: Assist you in constructing positive solutions rather than dwelling on problems
E-mail us at tlc@hopeforfamilies.us
Call - 402-477-1898
