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4,039 people sought family therapy help in California in the last year

Discover how starting family therapy can support your own journey toward a happier, more fulfilling life.

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Starting Family therapy

What is family therapy?

Family therapy helps families resolve conflicts and strengthen their relationships. It is led by qualified mental health professionals like psychologists, licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) who have extensive training in family dynamics and group communication.

How does family therapy work?

Thriveworks family therapists in Berkeley, CA usually begin by asking what everyone’s goals are for family counseling. Family members may need help with very specific issues or with general relationship functioning. But there are three main purposes in family counseling: to educate, to counsel, and to strengthen. Thriveworks also offers online family therapy and in-person services, so you may all meet in an office together or join a video call from your home depending on everyone’s location and availability.

What is the most effective family therapy?

The most effective form of Family therapy will often depend on the family itself, as there are many types of family therapy for therapists to use as they see fit in order to best meet the needs of their clients. However, one of the most commonly used types of family therapy is structural family therapy (SFT). SFT focuses specifically on family dynamics and interactions, looking at how they shape the relationships and structure present in the family. It can be effectively used to treat a variety of concerns.

How do I know if my family needs therapy?

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.

What is included in family therapy?

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.

What is the success rate of family therapy?

Family therapy can be incredibly successful, with some studies reporting a success rate of almost 90% for improving participants’ emotional and mental health, and around 66% for improving their physical health.

Is family therapy conducted in person or online?

Thriveworks therapists in Berkeley, CA offer both online family therapy and in-person family therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.

How long does family therapy last?

Family therapy is usually short term and solution-focused, with most families accomplishing their goals in 12 sessions or fewer. However, it can also last for longer if the probles at hand are more complex — and that’s okay, too.

Need more help deciding?

The playwright George Bernard Shaw once famously stated, “A happy family is but an earlier heaven.” But no family can be happy all the time. People can strive for paradise ideals, but they’re not always going to meet them. Daily family life is full of misunderstandings, conflicts, and grudges. And that’s completely normal. But if behavioral, emotional, or interpersonal issues endure and begin to interfere with overall family harmony, it may be time to see a family therapist.

Family therapy at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA is an exceptional way to facilitate safe and  open communication between family members. It’s not always easy to tell our loved ones how we feel and what we need from each other. A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) at Thriveworks can help everyone learn how to comfortably express their goals and desires, and then help find solutions to individual and family issues. 

Does Family Therapy Work? 

Family therapy is an incredibly useful and effective tool in helping family members see each other’s points of view. It can be difficult to do this without an unbiased facilitator because a family’s emotional bonds run so deep. Plus there’s a lot that’s implicit in family dynamics. For instance, people follow unspoken rules and play roles that are never consciously decided on. Family therapists can help bring those unacknowledged forces to light. For all these reasons and more, family therapy at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA can help families find practical solutions to their problems, which may include any of the following:

  • Postpartum depression
  • Anxiety 
  • Phobias
  • Bedwetting
  • Grief
  • Financial stress
  • Marital stress
  • Juvenile delinquency or crime
  • Constant conflict 
  • Emotional or verbal abuse
  • Chronic illness 
  • Caregiver burnout
  • Anorexia or bulimia
  • Behavioral problems (acting out)

Licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) at Thriveworks can also help families identify areas where one family member may benefit from individual counseling. For example, sometimes one person’s depression or substance abuse issues can affect the whole family unit. In these cases, it’s important to talk through the issue as a family and show all family members how they can support recovery, but the person suffering directly from the issue may need some one-on-one counseling. 

What Does a Family Therapy Session Look Like?

Marriage and family therapy sessions are group therapy sessions that include the relevant parties in a therapist-guided discussion about a family’s strengths and weaknesses, among other topics. Family counselors at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA usually begin sessions by asking each individual what their goals are for therapy. Clients give a variety of responses, but here are some goals that family therapists hear about more frequently:

  • Reconciliation and healing
  • Increasing rapport
  • Reduction in conflict and tension
  • Forgiving, or asking for forgiveness
  • Establishing healthy boundaries
  • Managing anger
  • Build trust in each other
  • Explore misunderstandings 
  • Find support

How to Decide If Family Counseling Is Right for You

If the daily harmony of your family is suffering and you’ve thrown the kitchen sink at the problem to no avail, then it’s probably time for family therapy. But a family doesn’t have to be in crisis to benefit from some gentle, professional guidance. Short-term family counseling at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA can be a way of preventing bad communication habits to get baked in. Family therapy can be a form of maintenance, teaching family members best practices that will serve them throughout their lives. 

If your family members are reluctant to seek counseling and you’ve already tried everything in your power to persuade them, then try going to therapy on your own first. You could probably use the support, and your therapist may have advice for how you can convince your family members to join you. 

Support Your Loved Ones with Family Therapy at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA

Booking a session of family therapy at Thriveworks in Berkeley, CA shows your love for and overall commitment to your family. Needing therapy doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with you and your loved ones. It means your bonds are strong enough that you’re not afraid to ask for help. The top-rated family therapists at Thriveworks excel at compassionate problem solving.

At Thriveworks, family therapists can meet with clients in-person at the modern office, or online through a secure telehealth connection. Online counseling means that busy family members don’t all have to show up at the same time in the same place. They can do the sessions from their own homes, schools, or offices. Because Thriveworks mental health providers are all fully licensed, nationwide, they accept most major health insurance plans. This makes the premium therapy services at Thriveworks affordable for most families. 

After enrolling at Thriveworks, clients receive additional benefits like email and phone access to their providers between sessions. Thriveworks counseling sessions begin on-time or early 97% of the time, so clients rarely have to wait. 

Call the Thriveworks office today and you can potentially meet with a counselor as early as tomorrow or the next day. We look forward to matching you to an exceptional family therapist!

Pricing & insurance

Our therapists accept most major insurances. We accept 585+ insurance plans, and offer self-pay options, too.
Learn more about pricing for therapy and counseling services at Thriveworks.

Our Berkeley therapists and counselors accept 20 insurance plans

  • Aetna

  • Blue Shield of California | BCBS

  • Cigna | Evernorth

  • Cigna | Evernorth EAP

  • Compsych

  • First Health Network

  • Humana Exchange

  • Humana HMO/POS

  • Humana PPO | EPO | HDHP

  • Imperial Health Plan Medicare Advantage

  • JP Farley Corporation

  • Magellan

Show more
Self-pay costs at Berkeley
Talk therapy

Talk therapy

Includes individual, couples, child/ teen, & family therapy

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Talk therapy

Psychiatry

Includes reducing symptoms with medication & management

First session

$1

Ongoing sessions

$1

Hear from our clients

Thriveworks Berkeley has no reviews yet, but check out these reviews from locations in California.

4.5 Thriveworks Berkeley reviews are collected through Thriveworks.com.
★★★★★
Thriveworks helped me realize that I do believe people can change. I’m not the person I was three months ago, broken and fearful. I’m healthy and happy and for the first time being kind to myself. Thank you for giving me my life back.
Read more Thriveworks helped me realize that I do believe people can change. I’m not the person I was three months ago, broken and fearful. I’m healthy and happy and for the first time being kind to myself. Thank you for giving me my life back.
Anonymous Thriveworks Client
Review left on Thriveworks.com

Where to find us

Getting here

Thriveworks Counseling & Psychiatry Berkeley is located at the intersection of Milvia St and Addison St. We share a building with Ace Hardware, Bay Psychiatric Associates, Bradley Engwall MD, Magoosh, Young Musicians Choral, Voltaiq, and Kaila Compton MD. Across Milvia Street is Berber Athletic Club and The Medak Center, and across Addison Street is Opticos Design Inc, MSCI, and Berkeley Electronic Press.

Phone number

(510) 544-8907

Languages spoken by CA providers

  • English
Thursday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Friday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Saturday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Monday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Tuesday 8:00am - 9:00pm
Wednesday 8:00am - 9:00pm

Shown in PT

Thursday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Friday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Saturday 7:00am - 6:00pm
Sunday 8:00am - 5:00pm
Monday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Tuesday 7:00am - 9:30pm
Wednesday 7:00am - 9:30pm

Shown in PT

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