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Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps families or individuals within a family understand and improve
the way family members interact with each other and resolve conflicts.
It emphasizes
family relationships as an important factor in psychological health. As such, family problems have been seen to arise
as an emergent property of
systemic interactions, rather than to be blamed on individual members.
When doing family counseling, I usually meet several members of the family at the same time. This has the advantage of making
differences between the ways family members perceptions apparent both for the therapist and the family. These patterns
frequently mirror habitual interaction patterns at home. Therapy interventions usually focus on relationship patterns rather than on analyzing impulses
of the unconscious mind as individual therapy would do.
Family counseling is really a way of thinking, an epistemology rather than about how many people sit in the room with the therapist.
Family therapy is often relational therapy, focusing on what goes between people rather than in people.
Depending on circumstances, I may point out to the family interaction patterns that the family might have not noticed; or suggest different ways of
responding to other family members. These changes in the way of responding may then trigger repercussions in the whole system, leading to a
more satisfactory system state.
Your family can be your greatest source of support, comfort and love. But it can also be your greatest source of pain
and grief. A health crisis, work problems or teenage rebellion may threaten to tear your family apart.
Families can be torn apart by illness, divorce or other problems that create conflict and stress. Family therapy can help families identify and resolve problems.
Family therapy may help your family weather the storm. Family therapy can help patch strained relationships among family members and improve how your family works together. Whether it's yourself, your partner, a child or even a sibling or parent, family therapy can help all of you relate more harmoniously.
Who can benefit from family therapy?
In general, anyone who wants to improve troubled relationships can benefit from family therapy.
Family therapy can help with such issues as:
- Marital problems
- Divorce
- Eating disorders, such as anorexia or bulimia
- Substance abuse
- Depression or bipolar disorder
- Chronic health problems, such as asthma or cancer
- Grief, loss and trauma
- Work stress
- Parenting skills
- Emotional abuse or violence
- Financial problems
Family therapy may be an addition to other types of treatment, particularly for certain mental disorders that require
more in-depth treatment. Family therapy shouldn't substitute for other necessary treatments. For instance,
family therapy can help family members cope if a relative has schizophrenia. But the person with schizophrenia
should continue with his or her individualized treatment plan, such as medication and possibly hospitalization.
In some cases, family therapy may be ordered by the legal system. Adolescents in trouble with the law may be
ordered into family therapy rather than serving jail time, for instance. Violent or abusive parents are sometimes
spared jail if they enter family therapy. Divorcing couples may also be required to attend family therapy.
Family therapy often brings entire families together in therapy sessions. However, family members may also see a
family therapist individually, and family therapy may include nonfamily members, such as schoolteachers, other
health care providers or representatives of social services agencies.
When doing family therapy, you and your family will examine your family's ability to solve problems and
express thoughts and emotions. You may explore family roles, rules and behavior patterns in order to spot issues that
contribute to conflict. Family therapy may help you identify your family's strengths, such as caring for one another,
and weaknesses, such as an inability to confide in one other.
For more information, please call me at (408)315-0645,
contact me online, or
click here for a free consultation.
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