What is family therapy / family counseling?
Family therapy or family counseling is a type of psychotherapy that is aimed at solving specific problems that affect the normalization of the life and functioning of the family. It can be used to help a family through a transition, a crisis, to help family members recover from emotional distress, behavioral health problems.
Family psychotherapy gives people the opportunity to look together at what prevents the family from being united and harmonious. Individual therapy does not give such an effect, because a person returns to the same family environment where he came from, where all habits, communication methods remain at the same level.
Family counseling is ineffective when one person has already made the decision to end the relationship – counseling helps support people’s goals, not change their minds. At this stage, the role of the therapist will be to help the partners to separate. Couples counseling also does not help when there is violence and abuse in the family. It is better to leave such a marriage, even if it hurts.
Reasons to see a family psychologist
When one of the family members offers to see a psychologist, this should not be taken as an indicator that family relationships are completely ruined. This is a sign that family members want to talk constructively and are ready to make a difference. At a family consultation, a specialist can solve a variety of problems.
Most often, a psychologist is contacted if:
- Violated relations in a married couple (emotional disharmony, infidelity).
- Parents and children are in conflict, do not understand each other.
- The child has problems with social interaction. For example, he behaves aggressively with peers or, conversely, has become the object of bullying.
- A loved one has died or another psychological trauma has occurred that is difficult to cope with on your own.
- Parents or children have some mental disorders (depression, phobias), developmental disabilities, addictions.
The range of tasks of a family psychologist also includes helping a teenager in personal and, in part, professional self-determination. On the basis of the choice of the future for the child, conflict situations may arise in the family, and the psychologist will help to resolve them in a dialogue with all interested parties.
Types of family crises
Crisis periods are considered a very common phenomenon when people seek advice from a family psychologist. Each of these crises is characterized by negative emotions, anxiety, adjustment and resolution of the situation:
- The period of pregnancy and childbirth.
- School years, new relationships. The world of the family is complemented by the world of the school.
- The crisis of adolescence in a child.
- The moment when a child leaves home in search of independence.
- Child’s wedding. The appearance of new people in the family.
- The appearance of grandchildren.
- Departure of one of the spouses.
If a crisis occurs in several people at the same time, it is much more difficult to survive it. But, understanding what is happening and the fact that it is impossible to get away from such crises reduces tension and gives an understanding in which direction to move so that everything is resolved as safely as possible. The family is the only social group in which its members must jointly experience and accept such changes.
I would like to emphasize once again that each of these periods is natural and should not be considered something like a disease.
How to survive a crisis in family relationships
Each couple in the process of family relationships goes through pain, disappointment, misunderstanding. But how they manage to survive the crisis depends on their relationship.
Relationship crises can be all-consuming, challenging your sense of well-being, your performance at work, or spending time together with friends and family. You may feel angry, resentful, dissatisfied, helpless, trapped, or even desperate for someone you love. You can love each other, but you can repeat the same mistakes over and over again. The stakes can rise even higher when it comes to financial problems, infidelity, or children. Often fears of divorce are so great that you wait until a huge amount of unresolved conflicts and resentments have accumulated before you decide to try family therapy.
As a family therapist, I have seen many couples whose healthy relationships degenerate into confusion, bitterness, and helplessness. After consultations with a family psychologist, they managed to sort out the problems and revive love. But, unfortunately, there are couples in whose family relationships it is better to put an end to it and start life anew, and this is also normal. It is not necessary to live in a destructive relationship – it is better to leave.
If you are worried about your family, have run out of ideas of your own, and lack the energy to make changes, please consider seeking the professional help you need to restore your close relationship.
How Family Counseling Helps
The psychologist helps to look at the problem from a new perspective, to see the meaning in the symptoms that family members could not or did not want to see on their own. And also, if the parties are in conflict, he will act as an independent party to reconcile them and help negotiate.
If the problem requires long-term therapy, the psychologist conducts a session of several sessions. In this case, if he does not solve the problem completely, he will help bring it to the stage of remission and make it controllable for the client.
Contact our company rozluchennya-onlain.com.ua and our specialist with the help of special methodological techniques, family psychotherapy techniques will help you quickly and effectively solve your problem situation of any complexity in family relationships.
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