Family Therapy

Family therapy is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy) that helps family members improve communication and resolve conflicts.

Family therapy can help you improve troubled relationships with your spouse, children, or other family members. You may address specific issues such as marital or financial problems, conflict between parents and children, or the impact of substance abuse or a mental illness on the entire family.

Family therapy can be useful in any family situation that causes stress, grief, anger or conflict. It can help you and your family members understand one another better and bring you closer together.

Family therapy typically brings several family members together for therapy sessions. However, a family member may also see a family therapist individually.

During family therapy, you can:

• Examine your family's ability to solve problems and express thoughts and emotions.
• Explore family roles, rules and behavior patterns to identify issues that contribute to conflict — and ways to work through these issues.
• Identify your family's strengths, such as caring for one another, and weaknesses, such as difficulty confiding in one another.

Sessions typically take about 50 minutes to an hour. Family therapy is often short term — generally less than six months. However, how often you meet and the number of sessions you'll need will depend on your family's particular situation and the therapist's recommendation.

Dysfunctional communication patterns within the family are identified and corrected. People are taught how to listen, ask questions and respond non-defensively.

Family therapy doesn't automatically solve family conflicts or make an unpleasant situation go away. But it can help you and your family members understand one another better, and it can provide you with skills to cope with challenging situations in a more effective way.