What Is Family Therapy?

Communication and conflict are two big problems and family therapy is a psychological counseling method that can help. With family therapy you increase communication and reduce conflict in the home. At Children’s Wellness Company, we work with families to improve child/adolescent behaviors.  Using a multifamily and systems approach, Children’s Wellness Company helps families change behaviors.

In order to provide family therapy you often have to be a professional counselor in the form of a licensed clinician.  At Children’s Wellness Company, our professionals have degrees on the level of graduate or postgraduate depending on their position.

Family therapy is a short term psychotherapy treatment that is done with most, if not all, family members. What happens during a session depends on the specific case. Different families have different needs. What you learn in family therapy will help your family to bond and thrive, even through stressful conditions. The skills you learn in therapy will continue on after therapy.

Why Do People Turn To Family Therapy?

Family may be family but that doesn’t mean that troubled relationships don’t develop. Family therapy helps family of all relations to address specific issues that arise from life. Marital problems, conflict, mental health, and financial problems are just a few of the issues that family therapy can work on.

Many also pursue family therapy when there is other mental health treatment being pursued. Family therapy can help you  work through issues that may arise from mental illness. Here is an example:

Serious mental illnesses can be hard for family members to cope with. Family therapy can help family members to cope with conditions such as autism spectrum disorder or schizoaffective disorder. Family therapy is an additional treatment for the family, the person with mental illness should continue their other treatment.

Family members are capable of undergoing family therapy even when or if a family member isn’t there. A family who has a member who has an addiction can receive counseling while that person is in intensive treatment or even before that person has started treatment.

Just about any situation that causes stress or conflict in a family can be helped by family therapy. The process will help bring the family together and develop both coping and understanding at the same time.

How To Prepare For Family Therapy

At Children’s Wellness Company, we are trained professionals to conduct family sessions.  When scheduling with us, it is important to determine whether our therapist would be a good fit for your family. Here are some questions to ask a therapist:

Education Questions

• What kind of education do you have?
• What is your training background?
• Do you have a license?
• What accreditations do you have?
• Do you have any special training in family therapy?
• What experience do you have in our specific problem?

Location Questions

• Where is your office?
• How is our privacy handled?
• What hours are you available?

 

Session Questions

• What length of sessions can we get?
• When can I schedule sessions?
• How often can I get sessions?
• How many sessions can I schedule?

Cost Questions

• Does my insurance cover our sessions?
• How much does each session cost?
• Will I need to pay upfront or will I be billed?
• What happens if I need to cancel a session?

What You Should Expect

Your family therapy sessions are typically conducted as a group. You are brought together in a room to work together. In some situations a family member or multiple family members may also see the therapist one on one.

An average family therapy session is about an hour long. Your family will often go to a number of sessions over a few months with an average of 12 sessions total. However, you will find that a therapist will want to assess your situation and develop a plan based on that.

Family Therapy Allows You To

During family therapy you can examine your ability to solve problems as a family, communication thoughts and emotions productively, and more. Explore the roles in your family and the rules of the house. And most importantly you can start to identify the root of conflict and start to work through the causes.

You will also find your family’s strengths. Strengths are some of the best bonds for a family but weaknesses can also help you come together.

If a family member has a mental illness for example, chances are the rest of the family doesn’t quite understand it. This is common. You also probably want to know how to best support your family member.  A family therapist can help you to both identify and address the challenges your family faces with that mental illness. They can also help to set goals then achieve them as a family.

Family therapy isn’t magic. You will have to work to resolve conflict in the family and to improve the situation. But with better understanding and new skills, your family will find it much easier. Through all of this your family will start to feel closer.

At Children’s Wellness Company, we offer Family Therapy through licensed providers at a Masters or Doctorate level. To learn more about our Family Therapy services, contact us at 305-310-4245 or you can email us.