Family therapy offers clients a unique opportunity to peel back the layers that are currently affecting the family, address specific issues and help create a healthy functioning family. Together, with the therapist, the family can begin to heal by defining, understanding and if needed, addressing mental, emotional or psychological problems that are causing friction in the family. Unlike individual therapy, family therapy draws from the experiences and collective dynamics of the whole family to understand what issues are occurring and why.
The way a family functions together directly impacts each person in that family and can often be a reason why an individual or multiple family members are experiencing difficulties. Families are very interconnected, and the issues one member may be facing, can and do impact the other members of the family. ‘Families’ are not limited to blood-relatives, and can include extended family members, grown children, or those who play large and integral roles in each other’s lives.
Families continually go through various life transitions or difficulties. Parenting challenges, behavioral problems in children, difficulties communicating with each other, loss of a parent, fostering children, addiction, life transitions, and introduction of an aging parent to the home can all be situations that cause families to struggle to adapt. Family counseling helps sort through these issues and empowers family members to begin to work together towards a collective goal, without targeting one person as the problem person – instead viewing the problem as a pattern or issue in the ‘system’ that needs to be adjusted.
At MFCC, clients seeking family therapy can expect to:
- Learn how to improve communication between family members
- Determine and implement healthy boundaries
- Better understand family patterns and dynamics
- Begin to understand each others patterns, behaviors and emotions, and view this as an opportunity to connect on a deeper level
- Address and work to reduce family conflict
- Healing from previous wounding or past hurts
- Understand the security and ‘place’ each family member is looking for
Whatever concern, stage of life, lfie transition or problem your family is experiencing – we are here to help you heal or learn to better navigate.
Common reasons clients seek family counseling:
- Medical or mental health diagnosis of a child or parent
- Children exhibiting symptoms of depression, anxiety, recurrent unrealistic fears, bullying, anger
- Addiction: alcohol, drug or substance, pornography etc.
- Adolescents with anger, substance or alcohol abuse, eating disorders, cutting, suicidal thoughts, social, school or relationship conflicts
- Significant trauma or event affecting the whole family: cross-country move, incarceration of a family member, natural disaster
- Couples who are chronically fighting or in turmoil, having communication issues, experiencing abuse, angry, or depressed
- Unexpected loss of a family member
- Introduction of a new family member, new baby, foster child etc.
- Domestic violence or abuse
- Divorce or separation, or introduction of a new step-parent