Learn About Family Therapy And How It Helps

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family therapy

Last Updated on April 4, 2024

There’s no shame in learning that you have a problem that requires a little bit of counseling and nurturing. Those problems can develop due to your family members and due to a number of reasons. They can be due to a dysfunctional relationship with family members, meaning that you might end up struggling to connect with them on an emotional level. While it is unfortunate that such type of events occur, there is also a solution in the form of family therapy. It can overcome a lot of barriers and help you connect emotionally on a variety of levels.

What is family therapy and how can it help?

Family therapy is also known as family counseling and is a kind of treatment that is designed to treat or address specific issues affecting the health and functioning of a family. In a lot cases, it can help families go through a difficult period, or aid through a major transition that is often related to the mental or behavioral problems exhibited by one or multiple family members. In a lot of cases, it should always be assumed that the problems cannot be fully understood or addressed with the involvement of the entire group, which in this case will be the family.

Even if a single family member is absent from those multiple therapy meetings, then deducing the problem becomes a huge challenge in the future. For example, if there is a proficient counselor who deals with PTSD, he or she might be able to deduce the individual’s problem on how those behavioral issues started popping up in the first place, but unless the entire family gets involved, there is a very slim chance that the problem will get addressed even slightly.

What kind of techniques does family therapy involve?

Since there’s not just one way to go about this business, family therapy can be employed using a variety of techniques and exercises. This will range from cognitive therapy to behavior therapy. Interpersonal therapy is also included and so is individual therapy. Depending on the problems displayed by the client or clients involved, either one or multiple techniques might need to be included in the family therapy sessions in order to witness satisfactory results.

It should be noted that in family therapy sessions, the term ‘family’ can be a bit of misnomer. The short explanation is that anyone who has assumed a supportive role in one’s life becomes the family member. Often times people will confuse family as blood relatives. While that is often the case, it is not just limited to them. Thankfully, family therapists are equipped with a lot of experience to tackle these sort of problems.

However, in order for the client or clients to see favorable results, it’s imperative that all of them make an active participation in the program. Even if a single family member is missing, then significant problems can pop up.