Some situations that may benefit from family counseling include:
- The family is going through a loss.
- A family member is suffering from substance abuse
- Issues between parents (parenting issues or going through a divorce)
- A teen is experiencing behavior issues such as anger outbursts
- Sibling conflict
How can family counseling help?
Family counseling can facilitate an open line of communication and can help family members understand each other’s perspectives. This makes it easier to resolve disputes. During family counseling sessions, each member has the opportunity to learn ways of communicating better, as well as developing techniques to de-escalate arguments while making sure that everyone feels heard. Family counseling can also help with parenting problems such as conflicting parenting styles, rule enforcement, and remaining consistent with your teen once boundaries and rules are established.
How is it accomplished?
Family therapy can be used in addition to individual treatment. The goal is to improve relationships and improve methods of communication, as well as conflict resolution. Families are a unique ecosystem, and issues affecting one member of a family can reverberate and affect the whole unit. Additional benefits of this type of counseling are that in some instances, sessions can heal emotional wounds over the course of time.
