No matter how close-knit your family is, there will be times you will struggle with issues. Since the family relationship is core to a person’s overall development, you must find a way to resolve conflicts amicably. Going for therapy is one of the ways you can ensure that you have a healthy relationship and find ways to resolve issues in the future.
What is Family Therapy?
Just as the name suggests, family therapy involves members of the same family seeking counselling as a group. The family can be related by marriage, birth, or adoption. Although the session is recommended to be a group session, it can also start with one member seeking help and then having the rest of the family join in.
Since this is family therapy, the sessions will foster better relations between the members and build a healthy family dynamic for all involved.
What Can You Expect From Going to Family Therapy?
Knowing what to expect from the session will help you and your family manage your expectations. The one thing you need to remember is that family therapy is often a short-term process. You will all have to work to ensure that the lessons learned from the session impact your lives in the long run.
Some of the areas that will be tackled in family therapy include:
Communication skills
Coping skills
Conflict resolution
Ways to foster and improve on current bonds
What Types of Family Therapy Are Possible?
Your counselor will offer different therapy sessions based on your family’s needs. Knowing the options available will help you determine what will work for you and your family.
Functional Family Therapy
If you have an adolescent with behavioral problems, then this might be the best option for you. The sessions will help you and your child deal with whatever issues you might face and learn how to regulate your adolescent’s emotions.
Multisystem Therapy
If your child has broader issues, this would be the best form of therapy. It looks at how your child can better interact with family and other members of society. The sessions will examine the root cause of the issues and devise ways to deal with them.
Structural Therapy
If you have issues arising from the family structure, this is the kind of therapy you would go for. It helps the family find a way to create healthy boundaries and respect each other’s boundaries at home.
Transgenerational Therapy
If issues stem from interactions between parents and children or caregivers and children, then this is the type of therapy you would go for. The sessions will help uncover past issues that might be contributing to the current family issues. They will also help the family figure out what to do should similar issues arise in the future.
Brief Strategic Family Therapy
The sessions help change the patterns of interactions in the family. Studies have shown that this type of therapy has long-term benefits and reduces acts of rebellion in teenagers, which can lead to more violent behavior in the future.
Family therapy is vital to helping the members understand their different dynamics. It goes a long way in ensuring that the family bonds can withstand whatever curveballs life throws at them. Finding a therapist will help the family deal with whatever issues they are struggling with and foster better interactions in the family unit.
