Therapy is not just for individuals; couples and family units can attend therapy together as well. These services are great for when the family is experiencing a problem or hardship together or needs help with communication, collaboration, or emotional connection.
Therapy is also quite useful when a family member is living with a mental health condition affecting the rest of the family.
Though some families choose to work on their problems alone, others opt to get a professional involved. If you believe that your family needs to involve a therapist, there is no shame in that.
Read on to learn more about how a therapist can help your family and the common types of family therapy available.
Why You Should Consider Family Therapy
Though most families don’t consider therapy until a serious situation has arisen, It is always advised to visit or check out on a family therapist Seattle WA, or Los Angeles CA, if you’re experiencing a troubled time at home, especially with your spouse, in matters related to co-existence, work sharing, frequency matching and achieving a harmonious relationship.
Therapy not only helps the family through major issues such as life changes or traumas but also with communication, relationships, and dynamics within the family unit.
Therefore, families come to a therapist for many reasons. Some of them include:
- Mental health conditions or disorders such as depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder
- To process a traumatic event that affected the entire family
- Changes in family relationships and lifestyles
- Parenting issues and skills
- Support during a divorce or separation
- Grief or loss
- Communication problems
- Emotional abuse
- Physical abuse or violence
- Eating disorders
- Children or adolescent behavioral problems
- Chronic health conditions
- Support for step-family members joining the family
- Self-harm
- Substance use
- Financial problems
As you can see, there are very few issues that a therapist can’t help with. So if your family is struggling with a particular problem, but you all can’t seem to work through it on your own, then you may want to consider bringing in a therapist for some help and support.
Related Resource: Short Story: Benefits Of Meditation To Mental Health
Common Types Of Family Therapy
Before attending therapy with your family, you should be clear about your goals and what you want to get out of each session. Is there a particular event you all need to process?
Do you want each member to discuss their thoughts about a particular situation? Or do you want to focus on the relationships within the family? There are various types of family therapy, and they all focus on different goals, so you should be clear on what you want before starting.
Read on to learn about some of the common forms of family therapy.
1. Supportive Family Therapy
Supportive family therapy allows each family member to express their feelings and thoughts regarding a situation that is affecting the entire family unit.
It allows the family to get together in one spot and address the issue in a safe space. A therapist can offer advice on how the family can address the issue and provide guidance on how to process the emotions that come up throughout the situation.
2. Systemic Family Therapy
Systemic family therapy focuses on the entire family as a whole rather than each individual’s thoughts and feelings. The therapist helps the family with their overall dynamic as well as their collective attitudes and ideas that may cause problems amongst the members.
They support the family with guidance and advice on how to shift their attitudes and thoughts so that they are more beneficial for the family.
3. Structural Family Therapy
Structural family therapy focuses on the interactions between family members rather than each person’s attitudes or thoughts. This type of therapy is based on the social interactions of the family members and the family structure they create.
The therapist helps each family member outgrow constraining growth patterns or identities so that the family unit can become stronger and better connected.
4. Transgenerational Therapy
During transgenerational therapy, the therapist examines the interactions between family members of different generations. This helps them observe the dynamics and common issues among the generations as well as issues that may come up in the future.
5. Communication Therapy
As you may have guessed, communication therapy focuses on the relationships, interactions, and communication problems between family members. This type of therapy can also help when discussing difficult subjects such as trauma and mental health.
In addition, the therapist will help the family members adopt better communication and strategies for conflict to avoid issues in the future.
Related Resource: How to Support a Friend Struggling with Their Mental Health
Final Thoughts
Many families benefit from therapy. Whether your family is dealing with communication problems or more serious issues such as trauma or a mental health condition, a therapist may be able to help.
Now you have a good idea of how therapy can help your family and some of the forms that family therapy can take. If you’re interested in learning more about how therapy can help your family, you can find more information here.
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