When the Morris siblings’ mother died, the family fell into disarray. Their mom had always been the rock that kept the two Morris sisters and their brother going after their dad had passed away five years earlier. The siblings weren’t used to communicating to each other directly. Their mom had always been the mediator between them. In the wake of her death, they could barely even plan the funeral without arguing. Plus each sibling was heartbroken with grief in his or her own way. Sometimes the grief emerged as anger, and other times as depression. The siblings wanted to maintain their family’s close-knit bond that their mother had always cultivated, but without her, they didn’t know how. The Morris siblings needed professional guidance and support.
Fortunately the family therapists at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA can help families of all kinds manage their conflicts, their households, their traumas and losses, their communication patterns, and their intimate bonds. A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) at Thriveworks has the training and expertise to see the perspective of each family member and find evidence-based, problem-solving strategies to support individuals as well as the family unit as a whole.
How Do We Know When It’s Time to See a Family Therapist?
There is no objective answer to the question of when it’s time to see a family therapist at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA. Sometimes one family member pushes for therapy, while other members feel reluctant or don’t have the information they need to trust mental health counseling services. Sometimes just one person is having a problem–like anxiety, depression, or an eating disorder–that’s affecting everyone. Sometimes family members experience multiple problems at once. People choose to see a family therapist for all kinds of reasons, including:
- Marital problems
- Financial struggles
- Emotional or physical abuse
- Chronic illness in the family
- Depression or anxiety in the family
- Bullying
- Bereavement
- Substance abuse or addiction issues
- Blended family difficulties
- Growing apart
- Grudges
A highly skilled family therapist at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA can help put all the pieces together and foster understanding for what’s fundamentally troubling a family.
How Does Family Counseling Work?
Family counseling is an opportunity for multiple members of the same family to speak their truth and give their perspective. A family therapist might listen, give feedback, guide, challenge, educate, and make strategic recommendations. Family therapists use a lot of therapeutic tools to encourage family members to communicate. They might ask insightful questions that aim to uncover some of the following dynamics:
- Your family’s strengths and weaknesses
- Everyone’s roles within the family
- Unspoken rules and codes of behavior
- How you communicate with each other
Once a therapist has conscientiously identified existing patterns within the family, they can begin to guide family members toward effective strategies and solutions. Through the intervention of an experienced Thriveworks therapist, family members can learn how to:
- Be honest without being hurtful
- Reduce tension in the family
- Practice forgiveness
- Reinforce their strengths
- Learn to manage their anger
- Deepen their empathy for others
- Co-create an environment where everyone feels nurtured, safe, and supportive
Perhaps best of all, family therapy sessions are usually short-term because they’re often laser-focused on solving problems. The overwhelming majority of families find healing in fewer than 12 sessions.
What Are the Different Modalities of Family Therapy?
Family therapists at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA are experienced in the best, evidence-based approaches to family therapy, including:
- Structural, which looks at variables like structure and hierarchy that make up the family unit as a whole
- Strategic, which starts with observation and ends with task setting
- Bowenian, which focuses on self-differentiation
- Systemic, which treats the family as an interconnected unit
- Narrative, which uses storytelling to enhance understanding
- Psychoeducation, which teaches families about mental conditions and how they might affect family dynamics
These modalities of family therapy might sound a bit dry, but in practice they can include fun activities, exercises, games, and icebreakers in addition to traditional psychotherapy.
Find Your Exceptional Family Therapist at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA
You don’t have to hunt for hours online to find the best licensed family therapist in the Silicon Valley area. The family therapists at Thriveworks in Sunnyvale, CA are ready to meet with you and your family members in order to help you reconnect and communicate better. When you schedule a session at Thriveworks, you can usually meet your counselor within a day or two. Health insurance typically covers sessions, making them highly affordable. In addition to in-person sessions in the office, Thriveworks makes it easy for you and your busy family members to meet virtually in online sessions. You can also email and call your counselor whenever you need to between sessions.
Call today to discover all the benefits of Thriveworks and get started with your compassionate, fully-licensed family counselor.
