This answer often looks different to each family that starts family therapy. However, some signs that your family might need to consider family counseling include frequent fights or misunderstandings, constant tension, experiencing loss, behavioral issues, marital issues, divorce, and blended family issues, among others.
In family therapy, therapists will often start by asking questions and assessing individual and family dynamics. From there, they may employ therapeutic techniques such as structured family therapy, CBT, strategic family therapy, and more depending on the present concerns and conflicts. From there, a therapist will work to open lines of communication between family members and facilitate emotional healing and growth.
The family is a living, breathing machine (system) with many working parts. In order to function properly, each member must do its part reliably and consistently. Much like a car with a flat tire or an engine with a leaky radiator, a family can have members who struggle and need work (maintenance).
Who needs family therapy?
Do you have a family member who struggles with anger or frustration?
Do you find being a parent is much more difficult than you ever imagined?
Have you noticed poor communication or even no communication has caused hurt feelings?
Are you afraid things are falling apart and do you feel unable to fix it alone?
If so, family therapy is right for you. Like a car with a flat tire, sometimes we need to make a change to get back on the road of life. Like a car with a leaky radiator, sometimes we need to patch things up to keep from getting overheated in our relationships. At Thriveworks Maumelle we can help.
What do we know about families in America?
Statistics show that 50% of all marriages end in divorce and of second marriages that number goes up to 60%. Children without a strong family unit are at risk of making life-altering mistakes resulting in school failure or jail time. While many single parents manage well enough, those serious risks increase when a family struggles.
How is family therapy different from individual therapy?
Family systems therapy and family structural therapy are two common approaches to help families work better together. They help you communicate clearly and precisely and become interdependent rather than codependent. In short, these two theories allow a clinician to help “tune up” the family as a whole, by addressing the family as one unit rather than by identifying one person as the “troubled patient.” This enables each member to take part and have a voice in the growth and harmony of the family unit. When the family is unified and working together, problems are corrected more quickly and more effectively.
Strong families have the following statistical benefits:
- Greater capacity for dealing with stress and hardship
- Fewer occurrences of anxiety and depression-related conditions
- Greater income potential and shared expenses that reduce the risk of poverty
- Fewer occurrences of abuse, neglect, or problems with the law
- Greater likelihood of passing on successful relationship habits to children
How else can Thriveworks help families?
At Thriveworks, we also look at Birth Order, Love Language, and Personality Typology. These are subsets of the family dynamic that promote understanding, insight, mutual cooperation, and effective communication. Sometimes just knowing “WHY” something is not working well is enough to make a change, but with the three aspects listed above, our clinicians go far beyond the “WHY” and dig into the “WHAT can be done” and “HOW can we do it?” That leads your family to goal-driven success.
So exactly what can a family therapist really do?
Specifically, our clinicians are able to help clients with the following challenges:
- Overbearing/Authoritarian Parenting, which has led to rebellious children
- Permissive Parenting, which has led to out-of-control children
- Teen/Hormonal changes leading to conflict in the family
- Special-needs family members and balancing out care/interaction with them
- 5. Intimacy/Love issues in the relationship (and a lack thereof)
- Alcohol/drugs, abuse, and neglect in the family
- Failing to communicate with purpose (getting the needs of each family member met)
- Lack of relationship preparation and failing to maintain the relationship (Premarital Counseling and Marriage Maintenance)
- Struggling as couples (preventing separation/divorce/breakups in hard times)
- Rekindling the love in relationships
Marriage and Family Therapy is not a “silver bullet” and it certainly isn’t a magic wand. We have amazingly talented clinicians, but the key to learning and growing in the family starts with your desire for change. We can help you with the WHY, WHAT, and HOW, but in the end you must do the work. If you are ready to get your family back on track or even check in to see where you are in your relationship maintenance status, give us a call. We accept all major insurance plans to make it affordable.
Call 501-628-9066 or email us at curtiss@thriveworks.com for more information.
