Family therapy or counseling is a type of psychological counseling designed to work with and help family members improve their relationships and resolve issues or conflicts. Family therapy may include all family members or just those able or old enough to understand and be involved. Family counseling is usually short term and the specific treatment will depend on your family situation.
Common concerns or issues that are often addressed in family therapy may include
- Marital issues
- Sibling issues
- Conflicts among family members
- Illness
- Step-parenting/blended families
- Adoption/foster care.
- Grief from death or other loss
- Trauma – emotional, physical, sexual
- Separation/Divorce
- Addictions
- Parenting issues
- Family relationships
Why Choose Family Therapy?
Family therapy or counseling can help you, your spouse and your children repair and improve difficult relationships. Family therapy can help improve strained relationships, teach new coping skills and improve how your family works together. Whether it’s you, your spouse, or your children who are in crisis, family counseling can help you deal with these issues and help strengthen new behaviors for the entire family. Family therapy can help identify your concerns and then address exactly how each family member is handling them. Guided by your therapist, your family will learn new ways to work together to overcome old issues and problems. Family therapy can be helpful in almost any family situation that causes anger, struggles, conflict, or stress. It can help build stronger family bonds by addressing issues so that family members understand each other better
Benefits of Family Therapy
The biggest benefit of family therapy is bringing the family together and helps build strong, healthy and happy families. Family therapy helps parents and children deal with problems, trauma, or other major life transitions and changes, by providing counsel and support when everyone is feeling a bit overwhelmed by their situation. The counseling of family members together helps improve communication within the family and it fosters togetherness and a sense of purpose. Family therapy also helps to create peace of mind with the parents, boost self-esteem of children and family members and helps to foster good relationships outside of the home. The goal of family therapy is to promote understanding among all family members on how to solve the problems of one or more members. For example, if a child is having school or relationship issues, therapy can identify family patterns that may cause a child or teen to act out, rather on just focusing on the child behavior. Together, as the family discovers the source of the issue, they can learn how to support the child and other family members and work together to change the undesired behavior.
Child and Adolescent Therapy
Children of all ages, including preschool, elementary, middle school and high school, all seem to have their own level of difficulty for parents. Parents are not always prepared when their children are born with the essential tools to parent well, and they constantly worry about doing the right thing and making the right choices about how their children grow, develop and interact with the world.
Sometimes parents and family members are facing issues with their child that they do not know how to handle, and it can pull a family apart if not addressed. Many children and teens stumble along the way, and individual or family therapy or counseling can successfully address these issues.
At Medical Psychology Associates our therapists are experienced with all age groups, use evidence-based treatment. Common issues addressed in child or Adolescent therapy may include:
- Low self-esteem
- Poor social skills
- Anger
- Mood swings
- Depression
- Anxiety
- ADHD
- Substance abuse and other addictions
- Eating/sleeping patterns
- Developmental delays
- Aggression and violence
- Social issues
- School issues