What Is Family Therapy?

Published on February 16th, 2022

Updated on January 2nd, 2024

Therapy is most commonly known to be helpful for people who suffer from mental health issues. It is true, therapy can help with managing mental illness, but it can be helpful for other issues as well. You do not have to be struggling with a mental health issue to consider therapy.

People can seek therapy for different reasons. There are different methods to receiving mental health therapy, and sometimes therapy can be helpful with others. A form of therapy that helps people with relationship issues is family therapy. Family therapy is an option for families who are struggling to get along.

Why People Go To Family Therapy

Family therapy includes family members in counseling sessions. It can be a helpful form of therapy for different reasons. Many people seek family therapy to resolve issues and strengthen their support network. They may also seek therapy to learn how to relate to and support family members.

What Is Needed For Family Therapy

Successful family therapy depends on a number of factors. Commitment to change and growth is an important part of successful family therapy. Committing to therapy maximizes the betterment of the family dynamic. The more every family member works toward achieving therapy goals, the better the result.

Having a strong treatment plan is important in family therapy. At the beginning of therapy, family members will create a treatment plan with their therapist. On this treatment plan, everyone will agree on the same goals. These goals will be used to set the pace for counseling sessions.

Who Can Provide Family Therapy

Mental health therapists are qualified to provide family therapy. There are different types of therapists. Knowing which kinds of therapists to meet with for family therapy is important.
Different types of therapists are qualified to provide counseling to families. The main type of therapist who can provide family therapy is a marriage and family therapist. A licensed marriage and family therapist focuses on the family dynamic. Their counseling sessions are geared toward helping to improve the family dynamic.

Other types of therapists who can provide family therapy include:

Licensed mental health counselor
Licensed professional counselor
Licensed clinical social worker
Licensed marriage and family therapist
Licensed clinical mental health counselor

Each of these types of therapists has formal training for providing family therapy. In their training, they have learned how to be mindful of different factors that affect a family. Such factors include:

Cultural considerations
Family dynamics
Issues regarding blended families
Family history of mental illness
Child and family development
Parenting issues
Marriage and relationship issues

Family therapists know how to facilitate a therapy group. This helps with navigating family issues. A therapist will not lose confidence if a counseling session gets tense. They know de-escalation skills to manage uncomfortable moments in family therapy.

Do not hesitate to seek family therapy if your family can be difficult or explosive. A family therapist will have the skills needed to navigate a tense or emotional space. They will know how to keep family members on a healthy path in therapy sessions.

When Family Therapy Can Be Helpful

Family therapy can be helpful in a number of different ways. Sometimes families face issues and crises that they are not equipped to handle on their own. This may be due to different reasons. Such reasons for families to seek family therapy include:

A lack of education or understanding about an issue that has arisen
Past resentments that impact communication
Struggle with understanding the viewpoints of family members
Fears about expressing honest thoughts and feelings
Distrust between family members
Difficulty understanding and managing the core of relationship issues

Family therapy can teach coping skills and educate about mental health and wellness. It also teaches skills to resolve issues between family members. Family therapy teaches family members how to support each other in a healthy way. The following can be accomplished in family therapy:

Resolving of issues between family members
Learning about how to support a loved one who is suffering
Developing plan for blending a new family
Learning and improving parenting skills
Processing grief and loss
Receiving education about addiction and mental health issues
Learning about how to support an addict who is in recovery
Developing healthy and effective communication and coping skills

Family therapists offer a neutral, third-party perspective to help to resolve issues. A third-party perspective can help with an unbiased path toward resolution. With the participation and cooperation of family members, families overcome challenges and become stronger.