Is your family going through a rough patch? Whether the issue itself, stems from a lack of understanding between those involved, sibling conflict, or developmental disagreements with a child, a difficult situation can have an effect on the entire family. Family counseling, or family therapy, can be helpful when problems arise and can help restore and improve communication.
Some situations that may benefit from family counseling include:
- Family experiencing loss, illness, or grief
- Conflict between parents or divorce affecting children
- Children or parents are exhibiting behavior issues such as anger outbursts
- Sibling conflicts
How can family therapy help?
Family therapy can aid in building communication skills and help family members understand each other's perspectives. During therapy sessions, each member has the opportunity to improve ways of communicating and listening, as well as developing techniques to de-escalate arguments while making sure that everybody is being heard. Parents also engage in self-reflection to understand how their families of origin and inter-generational trauma may be impacting their current family system and patterns.
How is it accomplished?
Family therapy can be used in addition to individual counseling. The goal is to improve relationships and methods of communication as well as engage in conflict resolution. Families are a unique ecosystem, and issues affecting one member of a family can reverberate and affect the whole unit. Additional benefits of this type of counseling are that in some instances, the sessions can heal emotional wounds in a relatively short period of time.