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 Vancouver, WA 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 Vancouver, WA 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 therapists at Thriveworks in Vancouver, WA have the expertise to identify underlying patterns, roles, and conflicts within family units. These professional counselors serve as educators, mediators, and problem-solvers during sessions. They’re trained to understand how families might operate as their own system or unit, and how individual members function within those same families. If your family is facing hardship, dysfunction, or just needs a little TLC, a licensed marriage and family therapist (MFT) at Thriveworks in Vancouver, WA is here to help. Contact us today.
How Can a Family Counselor Help My Family?
A family therapist’s primary objective really depends on what you and your loved ones are looking for. Different family members may approach therapy with specific goals in mind. A family therapist at Thriveworks in Vancouver, WA is going to ask a lot of questions in order to understand what everyone wants to get out of therapy. Here are some examples of needs that might motivate one or many of you to seek relationship counseling:
- I want to build trust.
- I want to establish healthy boundaries.
- I want to learn how to be a better parent.
- I want to build consistency in my parenting.
- I want to address past confusions and misunderstandings.
- I want to learn how to resolve conflicts better.
- I want to stop having the same fights over and over.
- I want to understand my loved ones better.
- I want my loved ones to understand me better.
- I want to learn to manage my anger.
- I want to forgive.
- I want to reduce tension at home.
- I want my kids to grow up in a safe, secure environment.
- I don’t want my kids to repeat my mistakes.
- I want to feel loved and appreciated.
- I want to learn to harness my family’s strengths.
What to Expect from Family Therapy
In family therapy, you can expect short-term, solution-focused therapy aimed at addressing communication issues, conflicts, or whatever else you bring to the session. What you shouldn’t expect is a counselor telling you that you’re right and your partner/kid/father-in-law is wrong, or vice versa. Family therapy isn’t about blame or punishment. It’s about solving family problems in a safe, secure, supportive environment—with a top-rated family counselor at Thriveworks who knows exactly what they’re doing.
So what do these specialized counselors do? Well, family therapy can sometimes work like this:
- You notice a problem in your family.
- Your efforts to fix said problem are a dismal failure. In fact, you might just be making things worse.
- You schedule an initial session with a family counselor at Thriveworks in Vancouver, WA.
- The counselor asks you all about the problem, and about its background and context.
- The counselor asks you about your feelings about the problem.
- Your counselor uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques to gain further insight into the problem.
- Your counselor proposes a treatment plan—concrete steps you can take—to resolve the problem.
- You resolve the problem in fewer than 12 sessions and family harmony is restored. You also learn ways to prevent further problems.
Book Thriveworks Family Therapy for You and Your Loved Ones
Thriveworks family therapists in Vancouver, WA don’t give reluctant family members time to change their minds—clients often see their counselors for the first time within the same week. In addition, we offer evening and weekend sessions, and we accept most major insurances.
Call us today to find out how Thriveworks can help your family.
