Family therapy is a type of group therapy that works with individuals in intimate relationships such as couples or families. Family therapy seeks to help everyone in the family better understand and support one another. Sessions can involve as few as two family members, or can involve the entire family including; parents, children, siblings, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, and even friends and caregivers close to the family.
Family therapy sessions are typically led by licensed marriage and family therapists, but can also be provided by other mental health professionals like psychologists and social workers. Family therapy is a form of talk therapy, giving individuals and their family a safe place and time to talk about family issues. The therapist can further observe how family members interact and provide techniques to promote more effective communication within the family unit.
Family therapy can help families who are feeling overwhelmed or dealing with major life transitions associated with mental health conditions, chronic illness, substance use disorder, unemployment, divorce, death and grieving, etc. The presence of stressors within a family can lead to increased tension and reduced communication between family members. As such, family therapy sessions are designed to help families improve communication, problem solving, and coping skills, and enhance their sense of connection to one another in the face of difficulties within the family.
Family therapy provides family members with a safe space to work through difficult feelings and better understand each other. It focuses on strengthening communication and can play a role in facilitating difficult conversations between family members. When individuals are affected by difficult things such as physical or mental illness, family members may sometimes lack awareness of how to help and may end up engaging in behaviours that worsen the experience for the individual. As a result, family therapy can help members of the family learn more about what they can do to support their loved one while preserving their own mental well-being.
Any family can benefit from family counselling. Individuals tend to let their guards down around family members, sometimes resulting in lashing out towards them. An expectation for your family members to understand what you're going through met with a lack of understanding may increase frustration and lead to more tensions within the family unit. Family therapists can assist with these conflicts, and by acting as a non-biased individual can:
Techniques used in family therapy focus on helping people accept things they can't control, improving communication within the family, improving emotional awareness, and assisting with major changes within a family.
Methods and techniques used in family therapy include:
Family therapy can vary in what it looks like for individuals. On average, it is short term, lasting about 12 sessions. However, the number of sessions can vary depending on the family's situation and the therapist's recommendations.
Family therapy can be beneficial for any situation that causes stress, grief, anger, or conflict within the family. It can help family members understand each other's needs, resolve conflicts, and teach coping skills that unite the family. Often, these tense situations can lead to increased self-distancing and separation between family members. Family therapy has the advantage of helping families stick together through tough times, reminding the family of the support they can seek from and provide to each other.
Problems in the family can affect areas of all family members' lives. Unresolved issues of family conflict may crawl up at work, school, or in everyday interactions with people. As such, a family counsellor can help the family work through issues by developing healthy behaviours that support each family members' needs.
Family therapy can further be beneficial if a family member has difficulty managing a mental health condition such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, addiction, or eating disorders. Often, substance abuse can be influenced by behaviours of immediate family members. By unconsciously supporting harmful behaviours and enabling codependency, family members can end up doing more harm than good. Family counselling can help work through these issues by addressing language or behaviours that the family engages in, and help replace these problematic behaviors with more adaptive ways to support their loved ones.
Individuals adjusting to a new family dynamic such as a newly blended family may also seek family therapy in order to strengthen the new family system. By helping individuals work through behavioural problems, family therapy can help improve how family members interact and relate to one another, fostering positive change in these close relationships.
While family therapy can involve sessions with the whole family, a family member may also see a family therapist individually. Family therapy is a time to focus on the whole family's needs, and is therefore not the time to focus on one member's individual mental health concerns. By participating in individual therapy in parallel with family therapy, an individual who is struggling to get the support they need can be fully present to work on the family dynamic during family therapy sessions. Family counselling services can benefit any family member who is facing challenges, including those who are:
Our families affect every part of who we are, influencing us as early as birth. We learn our habits, vocabulary, and beliefs about the world around us from our family members. Our family influences our understanding of and ability to maintain relationships with others. Most families experience some sort of dysfunction at some point in life. Family therapy offers families an opportunity to establish or maintain healthy family relationships and foster a better group dynamic between participating family members. Family therapy can help individuals understand how to provide support and guidance to their loved ones while maintaining their own well-being. Family counsellors can help set healthy boundaries within the family, with a goal of establishing a sense of mutual respect for each member of the family. A healthy family dynamic extends to the ability to develop healthy relationships outside of the family and contributes to an overall happy and healthy life.
The Kusnacht Practice provides treatment for conditions such as anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, co-dependency, post-traumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and addictions. Get in touch if you or someone you know needs treatment for mental health disorders and help with ways to interact with family members.
Link copied and ready to share!
