What is family therapy?
Family therapy helps families resolve conflicts and strengthen their relationships. It is led by qualified mental health professionals like psychologists, licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) who have extensive training in family dynamics and group communication.
How does family therapy work?
Thriveworks family therapists in Charleston, SC usually begin by asking what everyone’s goals are for family counseling. Family members may need help with very specific issues or with general relationship functioning. But there are three main purposes in family counseling: to educate, to counsel, and to strengthen. Thriveworks also offers online family therapy and in-person services, so you may all meet in an office together or join a video call from your home depending on everyone’s location and availability.
What is the most effective family therapy?
The most effective form of Family therapy will often depend on the family itself, as there are many types of family therapy for therapists to use as they see fit in order to best meet the needs of their clients. However, one of the most commonly used types of family therapy is structural family therapy (SFT). SFT focuses specifically on family dynamics and interactions, looking at how they shape the relationships and structure present in the family. It can be effectively used to treat a variety of concerns.
How do I know if my family needs therapy?
This answer often looks different to each family that starts family therapy. However, some signs that your family might need to consider family counseling include frequent fights or misunderstandings, constant tension, experiencing loss, behavioral issues, marital issues, divorce, and blended family issues, among others.
What is included in family therapy?
In family therapy, therapists will often start by asking questions and assessing individual and family dynamics. From there, they may employ therapeutic techniques such as structured family therapy, CBT, strategic family therapy, and more depending on the present concerns and conflicts. From there, a therapist will work to open lines of communication between family members and facilitate emotional healing and growth.
What is the success rate of family therapy?
Family therapy can be incredibly successful, with some studies reporting a success rate of almost 90% for improving participants’ emotional and mental health, and around 66% for improving their physical health.
Is family therapy conducted in person or online?
Thriveworks therapists in Charleston, SC offer both online family therapy and in-person family therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
How long does family therapy last?
Family therapy is usually short term and solution-focused, with most families accomplishing their goals in 12 sessions or fewer. However, it can also last for longer if the probles at hand are more complex — and that’s okay, too.
Need more help deciding?
Family Therapy and Counseling in Charleston, SC—Family Therapists, Counselors
When each family member contributes in a meaningful way and each member’s needs are met, families can be wonderful. But everyone knows families do not always work like that. Achieving harmony is challenging, and at times, it can feel nearly impossible. Here are just a few of the ways life can throw families off balance:
- Spouses who disagree on parenting styles, and children who experience behavior problems.
- The frustration or anger of one family member affects other family members.
- Apathy or tension between family members.
- Poor communication or lack of communication has led to hurt feelings and/or distance.
- The hurtful family pattern of behavior is playing out over and over again.
The family therapists at Thriveworks Charleston know that every family needs a little help along the way. Our counselors love helping family work through their challenges together, preserve every individual’s mental health, and grow closer throughout the process. If this sounds like something you’re interested in or could benefit from, reach out to Thriveworks Charleston today.
How Does Family Therapy Work?
Family therapy is built upon the foundational idea that people’s behaviors, beliefs, and identities are developed within their families of origin. Therefore, understanding an individual fully involves understanding their family.
Family structural therapy and family systems therapy are the most well-known techniques used in family therapy. These techniques explore how a family copes with stress, offers comfort, sets expectations, and defines their values. These family functions significantly impact each individual member’s life. Other mitigating factors in a family’s dynamic may be each member’s love language, personality type, and/or birth order. Understanding each person and understanding the family as a whole may help the family work together to overcome life’s challenges.
The goal of therapy is for families to experience interdependence—i.e., each member is respected both individually and within the group. Strong individuals may mean strong families, and strong families may mean strong individuals.
Getting Help for your Family
These are only a few of the reasons clients have started family therapy at Thriveworks Charleston:
- Hormonal fluctuations in parents that may be leading to conflict
- Abuse, addiction, and/or neglect
- Premarital counseling and/or marriage maintenance counseling
- Domineering parenting style that results in rebellious children
- An unequally distributed burden of care for a special-needs family member
- Lenient parenting style that results in out-of-control children
- Family members with unmet needs
- Intimacy challenges in the marriage
- Tension/strain in in-law, spousal, or parent/child relationships
- Crises such as job loss, death of a loved one, or loss of the family’s home
There is no easy path to overcome these common challenges, but when families are ready to work together, they can acknowledge unhealthy patterns, empathize with one another, and find a way to thrive. Let us help. Reach out to Thriveworks Charleston.
Work with a Family Therapist or Psychologist at Thriveworks Charleston
The therapists at Thriveworks Charleston understand that families face real challenges that could tear them apart. But our therapists also understand that with the right support and guidance, families can grow closer together.
Thriveworks Charleston is ready to help. When you call to make an appointment for family therapy, a scheduling specialist will answer your call. We have convenient appointment times available, including nights and weekends. We also work with many insurance plans! This is part of our mission to best serve all of our clients. Call Thriveworks Charleston to set up your appointment for family therapy when you are ready. We’ll be here.
