What Is Family Therapy And What Are The Benefits?
Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that helps families or individuals within a family understand and improve the way family members interact with each other and resolve conflicts together. The family can be the biggest source of support, comfort, joy and love. At times, it can also be your greatest source of strain and grief. A health crisis, marital struggle, mental illness, work problems or teenage rebellion may threaten to tear your family apart. This type of therapy strengthens the entire family, allowing each family member to rely on one another to work towards desired family change.
Every individual is, in part, a product of the environment they grew up in. Family plays an important role in our emotional, physical and spiritual development since each individual in the family system impacts and is impacted by the others. Depending on the unique needs and goals of the family, different combinations of family members may participate in each therapy session. The family therapist may give family members assignments to begin addressing some of the challenges identified during therapy.
Family therapy can help patch strained relationships, teach new coping skills and improve how your family works together. Whether it’s you, your partner, a child or even a sibling or parent who’s in crisis, family therapy can help all of you communicate better and develop new behavioral patterns.
Family therapy may be helpful to:
- Resolve a specific issue
- Prepare the family for a major life change such as a divorce or remarriage
- Address the role that family plays in an individual’s life
- Understand how their family functions
- Identify strengths and weaknesses within the family system
- Set goals and develop strategies to resolve challenges
- Improve communication skills
- Make the entire family stronger