Family Therapy
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Sometimes it can be helpful to have some family therapy sessions to talk out certain types of tensions that have developed which may be difficult to resolve. Family therapy can also be useful when a family goes through a crisis such as a loss of a member, divorce or huge financial shift. Ideally it is best to begin therapy sessions before there is a major crisis, but often people wait till communication has broken down before seeking assistance.
A good family therapist will encourage each member to communicate and to be heard. Sometimes at home, patterns are established where a couple of people are loud and others become quiet. In family therapy, the therapist tries to change the balance of participation so everyone can voice their point of view. It takes practice to change ingrained habits. Seeing each others points of view is very useful. The movie “Freaky Friday” was an extreme example where the mom and teenage daughter exchanged bodies with each other and lived each other’s lives at school and work for a few days. This gave them a sense of each other’s point of view.
Often there will be modeling within the session itself where a dialogue may be focused on so that healthier communication can be implemented. For instance, if one child hangs their head and tends to be very quiet when reprimanded by the parent, the therapist may try to draw out the child’s point of view and help him be more active in the conversation. A skilled therapist will help teens be able to speak and work through sarcastic attitudes or cynical outlooks to enhance family communication.
Family therapy may involve part of the session having just the parents in with the therapist working through some of their own issues and how they can work together more as a team rather than divided.
Ideally family therapy will result in better communication outside of the session time, reduced fighting at home and less worry and stress for both kids and parents resulting in more positive resolutions for issues when they arise.
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