What is family therapy?

Answer 1

family therapy is a type of therapy that helps bring you and your family closer together

Family therapy is a treatment modality practiced by psychotherapists who have advanced training in family therapy. It's often confusing if you are outside of the mental health profession to figure out who the different professionals are. A family therapist might be a licensed social worker, counselor, psychologist of psychiatrist. A family therapist might also be a licensed marriage and family therapist. What is probably more important than the discipline of the different therapist, in my opinion, is the individuals' length of experience and advanced training in family therapy. Don't be shy about asking and doing rigorous research to find a competent family therapist. The theory behind family therapy is that a symptomatic family member, for example a depressed spouse or acting-out child, is actually expressing what is going on in the context of the family system. For example, an individual therapist might look at an acting our child and think ADHD. A family therapist might see the entire family together and learn that in addition to the acting out child, a family has considerable marital dysfunction. A family therapist might observe the following -- when parents experience conflict, the child acts out. In the context of the family system, the acting out child serves to distract from the marital conflict which miraculously ceases once the child starts acting out. Not only does the child not have the negative experience of parental conflict but their acting out behavior gets them plenty of attention, even if it's negative attention, in the family system. This is, of course, not a deliberate plan that is in anyway conscious on the part of the child but a learned interpersonal interaction in the context of the parents and the child. Similarly, one can treat a depressed spouse, and treat "the depression" as if it were a separate entity or one can treat the spouse in the context of the marital sub-system and the larger family system. Salvador Minuchin was an early family therapist who focused on the external structure of the family. His therapy recognizes the hierarchy and boundaries within a family system. He made frequent use of videotaping in treatment of families and for teaching purposes. His therapeutic interventions were visual and dramatic -- for example having a parent who has relinquished their authority in a family and is unable to control the children stand on a chair. The visual lesson is that the parent is bigger than the child and thus a source of authority and protection in the family. Minuchin was famous for teaching parents that a family is not a democracy, although of course this looks different at different stages of the life cycle. Healing psychological pain that emerges in life is a profound and important journey. Family therapy is a possible path on that journey.

Answer 2

Family therapy is a type of counseling that helps family members improve communication and resolve conflicts. It focuses on strengthening the family unit and creating a supportive environment for all members to express their thoughts and emotions. The goal is to address issues that are affecting the entire family and work towards solutions that promote healing and understanding.