Family therapy is a type of treatment designed to help with issues that specifically affect families' mental health and functioning. It can help individual family members build stronger relationships, improve communication, and manage conflicts within the family system. By improving how family members interact and relate to one another, family therapy can foster change in close relationships.
Some of the primary goals of family therapy are to create a better home environment, solve family issues, and understand the unique issues that a family might face.
What issues can family therapy help with?
Family therapy can help people with many different issues. Some of these include:
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Behavioural problems in children or teens
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Changes within the family
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Communication problems
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Divorce, separation, or marital problems
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Parent-child conflicts
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Problems between siblings
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Parenting issues
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Drug or alcohol use
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Abuse
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Grooming concerns
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Stressful events or major life transitions
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Trauma
What will family therapy sessions look like?
Family therapy is often short-term, but it may also take place for a year or longer, depending on the situation and needs of the family.
During the initial sessions, the therapist will ask questions to learn more about the problems that have brought the family to therapy, from this evaluation a plan will be formed on how to proceed with consecutive sessions to both meet the needs of each family member and achieve the combined goals of the family.
There are several types of family therapy.
These include:
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Family systems therapy: This is an approach that focuses on helping people utilise the strengths of their relationships to overcome mental health problems.
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Functional family therapy: This is a short-term treatment often utilised for young people experiencing problems with risky behaviour, violence, or substance use. It helps teens and families look for solutions while building trust and respect for each individual.
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Narrative family therapy: This type encourages family members to each tell their own story to understand how those experiences shape who they are and how they relate to others. By working with this narrative, the person can start to view problems more objectively than just seeing things through their own perspective.
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Psychoeducation: This is centred on helping family members better understand mental health conditions. By knowing more about medications, treatment options, and self-help approaches, family members can function as a much more informed support system.
Supportive family therapy: This focuses on creating a safe environment where family members can openly share what they are feeling and get support from their family.
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Some therapists may stick with a specific type of family therapy. In contrast, others may take a more eclectic, multimodal approach that incorporates aspects of different types of treatment to suit the needs of the family.
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The techniques introduced to family therapy typically depend on the specific needs of the family. These are some methods that my be used in sessions:
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Behavioural techniques: These often focus on skills training and psychoeducation to help family members address specific problems. For example, modelling and role-playing might be used to help family members resolve communication problems.​
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Psychodynamic techniques: These involve assessing how each family member interprets and responds to the problems they are facing. The therapist works with the family to develop new emotional insights and explore new ways of responding more effectively.
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Structural techniques: These methods focus on helping family members with boundaries and power dynamics within the family. Such techniques can help families create new boundaries and establish routines that improve how the family functions overall.
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Whichever techniques are used in family therapy, the focus will always be on improving emotional awareness, assisting with major changes within a family, helping people accept things they cannot control, and improving communication and collaboration within the familial unit.
Pros to family therapy
Because this form of treatment addresses communication, family members can learn how to better share their thoughts and needs and resolve conflicts in a way that is less likely to damage relationships.
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This type of therapy also focuses on how family members can address an individual family member’s difficulties. For example, if one family member has a mental health condition, family therapy can help alter some conditions that sometimes contribute to the problem.
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When individuals are affected by mental illness, family members may sometimes lack awareness of how to help. As a result, they may engage in behaviours that maintain or even worsen aspects of the illness.
Family therapy can help members of the family learn more about what they can do to support their family member who has a mental disorder while preserving their own mental well-being.
Cons to family therapy
Time and financial commitments: It requires significant resources.
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Uneven participation: Success depends on active involvement of all family members.
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Emotional discomfort: The process can be emotionally challenging.
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Privacy concerns: Family issues are discussed openly.
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Dependency on therapist: Families rely on the therapist.
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Focuses on measurable goals in the present and may not address deeper generational issues.