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The Oxford dictionary defines family as a group of one or two parents and their child or children. And this definition is accurate to a certain extent. However, blood relations only bind some families. Sometimes a happy family can be a married couple with their adopted kid, a single parent raising their kids alone, or like most Indian households, an extended family living under one roof. But there is one thing that every group has in common; the influence family members have on each other. Whether the child is born, adopted, or fostered in a household, the values they learn from their caregivers impact every facet and decision they make.
For better or worse, we develop habits, traditions, languages, and perspectives over the world from our family. And it's up to the individual to learn new values and unlearn the established pieces of knowledge that stunt one's growth. A person raised in a healthy family with clear communication and boundaries grows to form meaningful relationships in the future. However, a dysfunctional family can discreetly impact a person's ability to interact and function in a social setting. While it is undoubtedly unfortunate for a child to be a part of a dysfunctional family, it is not their fault. And through the proper guidance, members of a family can learn to communicate with each other while still maintaining healthy boundaries and respecting one another. Family therapy helps people find a sense of cohesiveness and affection and learn to communicate better with each other.
The much-needed mental health awareness has made it relatively easy today to seek a therapist offering family therapy. So, if you find yourself and your family in any mental distress, you might consider consulting a professional to help you and your family.
On this page
About Experiential Therapy
About Experiential Therapy
Therapists / Counselors for Experiential Therapy
What is Family Therapy?
The Different Types
What are the Benefits?
Common Techniques
What Conditions Can it Help Treat?
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The Oxford dictionary defines family as a group of one or two parents and their child or children. And this definition is accurate to a certain extent. However, blood relations only bind some families. Sometimes a happy family can be a married couple with their adopted kid, a single parent raising their kids alone, or like most Indian households, an extended family living under one roof. But there is one thing that every group has in common; the influence family members have on each other. Whether the child is born, adopted, or fostered in a household, the values they learn from their caregivers impact every facet and decision they make.
For better or worse, we develop habits, traditions, languages, and perspectives over the world from our family. And it's up to the individual to learn new values and unlearn the established pieces of knowledge that stunt one's growth. A person raised in a healthy family with clear communication and boundaries grows to form meaningful relationships in the future. However, a dysfunctional family can discreetly impact a person's ability to interact and function in a social setting. While it is undoubtedly unfortunate for a child to be a part of a dysfunctional family, it is not their fault. And through the proper guidance, members of a family can learn to communicate with each other while still maintaining healthy boundaries and respecting one another. Family therapy helps people find a sense of cohesiveness and affection and learn to communicate better with each other.
The much-needed mental health awareness has made it relatively easy today to seek a therapist offering family therapy. So, if you find yourself and your family in any mental distress, you might consider consulting a professional to help you and your family.
What is Family Therapy?
It is a type of psychotherapy that helps each family members understand each other, communicate better, and resolve disputes among themselves. It allows people to tackle any issue that harms the mental well-being of a family. Typically the treatment is guided by a licensed therapist or a psychotherapist and includes every family member, or at least the willing members. The treatment plan depends on the family's shared area of concern or conflict. And the sessions are often short-term. The primary goal of the sessions is to create a wholesome home environment and enable the family members to overcome their unique issues and learn to accept each other.
During a session, a professional might gather every family member to discuss their personal and shared concerns. Or depending on the client's comfort level, a member could also seek an individual session with the therapist. The therapist acts as the communication medium by listening to the family's situations and troubles and helps the members develop effective strategies to overcome their hardships. For instance, in some cases, the parents find it challenging to converse with their children without provoking an adverse reaction. Meanwhile, the children might feel that their parents are regularly pestering them over every other issue. Here, the professional will help the parents and the child/children understand why they feel that particular way and what positive changes they can make to build a more trusting relationship.
This therapy type can help several mental health issues within a family, as it addresses specific problems. If a member of the family is suffering from any psychological or physical distress, it might knowingly or unknowingly impact the mental health of their loved ones as well. From marital issues, grief, and the struggles of substance abuse, this treatment modality enables families to unite and fight the problems together and bring the members closer.
The Different Types
There are different types of family therapy, and the most effective and commonly used include:
- Family systems therapy: This therapeutic approach is based on Bowenian family systems theory. The theory views the family as a single emotional entity and suggests how the family members impact each other in a complex manner. This type of family therapy focuses on utilizing and enhancing the individual strengths of a family member to overcome their concerns.
- Functional family therapy: This short-term treatment is employed to help families struggling with young adults or teenagers suffering from mental distress that can lead them to develop a hostile personality. The concern can be related to suicidal tendencies, substance abuse, or other mental health concerns. Through this approach, parents and children discover ways to help each other.
- Narrative family therapy: As the name suggests, this therapy type encourages family members to tell their own stories to comprehend better. Through their narrative, members learn how certain experiences shape their identities and why they feel the way they do. It allows people to get a more objective overview of the aspects that impact their emotional well-being rather than forming a one-sided narrative.
- Psychoeducation: This treatment focuses on sufficiently educating family members to understand mental health conditions. Family members can act as a cohesive support system by learning more about different treatment options, such as medications, therapy, and self-help strategies.
- Supportive family therapy: This specific type concentrates on building a safe environment within the family where the members can openly share their feelings and how they would want their loved ones to support them.
In some cases, family therapists might implement a singular form of therapy or take a more diverse approach that might integrate elements from different types of treatment to suit the family's requirements better.
What are the Benefits?
While people in a family can have great adoration for each other, some might still struggle to convey those emotions freely. Sometimes it might even be challenging to confront a family member to make them understand how their behavior affects others. Family therapy addresses these emotions and enables people to manage them better. People learn what behavioral traits or habits negatively impact their family and what steps they can take to tackle this issue.
Sometimes the reason families drift apart or find it difficult to communicate with each other can be as simple as the lack of awareness. This therapeutic approach allows individuals to explore one's own emotions and ways to comprehend others better. It helps people discover their ability to solve conflicts in a healthy manner and how they express themselves in a domestic setting.
It also helps individuals to distinguish their roles in the family and identify the behaviors that can take a drastic shape in the future. Recognizing behaviors allows members to take the initiative to break any toxic behavioral patterns among themselves.
The most crucial and wholesome benefit this therapy can offer is to make people understand their family's strengths and weaknesses. It enables them to build trust and depend on each other when needed.
Common Techniques
A family therapist might incorporate different techniques based on a family's concerns and the professional's observations of every family member. These techniques include:
- Behavioral techniques: This strategy focuses on teaching specific behavioral techniques and psychoeducation so that members can resolve any issue together.
- Psychodynamic techniques: This method assesses how family members analyze and react to a certain problem. The professional closely works with the family to build new emotional insight and discover new ways to form a healthy coping mechanism.
- Structural techniques: This strategy aims to help family members understand healthy boundaries and power dynamics to help people develop a more collaborative spirit among each other.
What Conditions Can it Help Treat?
This approach can help:
- Families with conflicts or disputes over property or financial disagreement
- Families with a member suffering from substance abuse or addiction
- A family member struggling with any mental illness
- Children facing problems like bullying or academic distress in school
- Tribulations between siblings/adoptive siblings
- Caregivers' burnout
- Conflicts due to extended family members
- Grief over a family member's illness or death
- Children with separated or divorced parents
Get Counseling from a Trusted Therapist With DocVita
No matter the love and affection among family members, sometimes families can be overbearing. But it doesn't mean that one loses all hope in their family. Through proper counseling, people can learn to mend broken relationships and create a wholesome understanding in the family.
Visit DocVita to find a licensed therapist that can be your trusted family therapist today!