Family Therapy

Family Therapy helps families to function better as a unit. Through the help of a counselor and therapist, members of a family meet together to address ongoing issues. Each member of a family plays a vital role in how a family functions and therapy can help individuals relate better to one another. Family Therapy explores current problems facing the family as well as generational patterns taking place in the context of the present. Family Therapy is also used to help blended families explore the new bonds and roles as they assimilate into a newly formed unit. 

Family therapy is used to address any number of issues that impact the way a family functions. Applicable for both nuclear and blended families, openly exploring behaviors, patterns, and conflicts via therapy helps to create a more cohesive family unit. Families may choose to seek therapy when facing some of life’s inevitable difficulties such as death, divorce,  or crisis. If a member of a family is dealing with mental health issues such as addiction, depression, or anxiety it can be beneficial for the family to meet together as a whole for open discussion on how these diagnoses affect the family and how they can best provide support for each other in light of such issues.

A family can expect to spend sessions in a non-judgmental and open environment with the therapist. In an initial meeting, the therapists works with the family members to identify the issues they wish to work on throughout therapy, as well as set goals, frequency, and the duration of each visit. In Family Therapy, each family member explores issues and resolve conflicts through honest communication. Therapy is solution and results-oriented and takes place in a safe environment. Expressing thoughts and feelings can uncover and heal years of unresolved conflict, giving each individual in the family new tools to express themselves in fair and effective ways.  

By exploring the individual personalities, communication styles, and experiences of each family member, a bigger picture emerges of how the overall family unit functions. Things like birth order, archetypes, and coping mechanisms impact how each family member contributes to the whole. By exploring the roles each member plays and the dynamics that make each family unique, a better functioning home environment can be nurtured. Family members my engage in exercises such as communicating differently with new approaches; parents may learn to practice delegating tasks, and create healthier boundaries and expectations. The goal of therapy is to work together to heal the family unit by openly addressing the issues unique to each family’s dynamic.