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 Spring, TX 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 Spring, TX 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?
Family therapy at Thriveworks in Spring, TX can facilitate mutual understanding, healing, and improved communication. The licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFTs) at Thriveworks have the clinical experience, training in family therapy, and compassion to help couples and families find solutions for their specific issues.
Call us or schedule online to book your family therapy session today.
What Are the Indications for Family Therapy?
Specific issues that might bring loved ones to family therapy include the following:
- Depression and other mood disorders
- Postpartum depression
- Anxiety and anxiety disorders
- Anorexia or bulimia
- Behavioral problems or “acting out”
- Support for neurodiverse children
- Substance abuse or addiction issues
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)
- Trauma
- Grief
- Financial stress
- Marital stress
- Social work needs
- Juvenile delinquency or crime
- Estrangement
- Infidelity
- Blended family issues
- Reproductive issues
- Conflict and tension in family relationships
- Emotional or verbal abuse
- Intermittent explosive disorder
- Chronic illness
- Caregiver burnout
- Codependency
- Perfectionism
- Conflicting parenting styles
A family counselor can develop a treatment plan around particular issues, though sometimes the issue is a symptom of a deeper dynamic in the family. If one family member has depression, for example, an LMFT can refer that person for individual counseling while continuing the family sessions to address group dynamics. This can aid in healing for everyone involved.
What Is the Role of the Counselor in Family Therapy?
In family therapy, a licensed counselor’s role is to facilitate communication and problem-solving with insights, sensitivity, authority, and leadership. A family counselor will also help everyone see situations from each other’s point of view. An LMFT at Thriveworks in Spring, TX may use any of the following therapeutic modalities to achieve a family’s therapy goals:
- Structural, which assesses the roles of family members
- Systemic, which explores family systems
- Narrative, which focuses on personal perspectives
- Transgenerational, which looks at conflicts from a generational standpoint
- Milan, which sees the body as a system guided by natural behavior
- Strategic, which attempts to examine and redirect patterns of behavior
A family counselor might use techniques like mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to get long term results. Their job is not to assign blame, but to help find solutions.
What Are the Benefits of Family Therapy?
Every family comes to therapy with different goals in mind, but some of these goals might overlap. Often, families benefit from family therapy by achieving the following goals:
- To reconcile
- To improve communication
- To reduce misunderstandings, conflict, and tension
- To forgive, or ask for forgiveness
- To establish healthy boundaries
- To manage anger, anxiety, depression, and other distressing emotions
- To build mutual trust
- To deal with specific external stressors
Family therapy can usually accomplish a family’s goals in 12 sessions or fewer, making it one of the most successful forms of therapy in mental health practice today.
Restore Equilibrium with Family Therapy at Thriveworks in Spring, TX
The family therapists at Thriveworks in Spring, TX are all fully licensed and can meet with clients in-person via traditional sessions or online counseling sessions. Thriveworks mental health providers accept most major forms of health insurance coverage.
Call Thriveworks Spring, TX today to get matched with your exceptional family therapist—or schedule your first session online to begin.
