The German writer Friedrich Schiller once wrote, “It is not flesh and blood, but the heart which makes us fathers and sons.” You can be a family with people who aren’t related to you by blood. It’s not the blood relationship that matters, but the enduring feelings of love, loyalty, and trust. Not to mention the difficulty! Family relationships can be hard to navigate. Everyone is an individual, but you also need to function as a whole. Family members squabble, brawl, hold grudges, and get estranged from each other. But the psychological rewards of keeping a family together can be massive: feelings of belonging, security, identity, and meaning. Because family is so important, it can be scary when you sense disunity under your roof. What do you do?
When your family is experiencing stress and hardship, family therapy at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX can help. Sometimes families need a mental health professional’s insight to summon its strengths and restore its bonds. A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) at Thriveworks can give family members the therapeutic resources to help them overcome obstacles and achieve their intimacy goals.
What Kinds of Issues Can a Family Therapist Help?
Many people are familiar with the famous quote from the Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy: “Happy families are all alike: each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” And it’s true that when there’s dysfunction in a family, it can come from a wide range of sources. But unhappiness in various families has one thing in common: at least one person in the family unit doesn’t feel psychologically safe, secure, valued, or beloved.
Some specific issues that can bring family members to a family therapist at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX include the following:
- Spousal conflict
- Financial stress
- Emotional or verbal abuse
- Chronic illness
- Caregiver burnout
- Special needs children
- Depression
- Anxiety
- Bereavement
- Bullying
- Eating disorders
- Behavioral problems
- Substance abuse or addiction
- Blended family difficulties
- Cultural differences
- Estrangement
- Long-lasting grudges
- Frequent fights
If your family is experiencing any of these issues, you may benefit from seeing a professional therapist who can help you all articulate your feelings and find practical solutions that will work for everyone. A therapist can also help identify family members who could benefit from individual counseling.
What Can You Learn in Family Therapy?
Everyone’s goals for family therapy at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX are different, but there are some common lessons that you and your family members may achieve in your therapy sessions. For example, you can learn how to:
- Be honest without being hurtful
- Reduce tension and conflict in the household
- Forgive, or ask for forgiveness
- Reinforce your family’s strengths
- Manage your anger
- Empathize with family members
- Nurture an environment where everyone feels psychologically safe and supported
- Recognize your family’s unspoken rules and codes of behavior
- Understand everyone’s communication styles
- Identify everyone’s implicit roles within the family
- Listen to each other’s points of view
- Establish healthy boundaries
- Use neutral language to improve communication
- Recognize emotional triggers
- Built trust in each other
- See when someone needs additional mental health support
Family therapists at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX can accomplish all of this by actively listening and seeking to understand each family member’s individual perspective. The therapist’s role is not to assign blame or take sides, but to illuminate the complexity and ultimately the beauty of intimate family relationships.
What Kinds of Families Go to Family Therapy?
Every kind of family is welcome at family therapy at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX. Our licensed therapists have experience with blended families, LGBTQ families, interracial families, nuclear families, friend families and roommates, work families, immigrant families, and more. Our therapists help families that feel as if they’re imploding from stress, and families that already have healthy communication strategies in place, but who want more psychological resources to help prevent future problems.
Can You Do Family Therapy Online?
Many clients at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX choose to attend family therapy online because it can be easier and more convenient to schedule. Multiple people don’t have to meet in-person in the same place at the same time. They can do the appointments remotely, (virtually), via Thriveworks secure video conferencing software.
Support Your Loved Ones with Family Therapy at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX
You can show how much you love and value your family members by encouraging them to see a licensed family therapist with you at Thriveworks in Corpus Christi, TX. Together you can face your problems head-on in a safe, compassionate, and insightful environment. Our family therapy clients often discover practical, effective strategies to solve their problems within just a few sessions.
Call the Thriveworks office today and you may be able to meet with your family therapist in as few as 24-48 hours. We look forward to helping your family!
