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 Norman, OK 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 Norman, OK 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?
The licensed family therapists at Thriveworks in Norman, OK have the skills, compassion, and psychological insights to help families navigate issues both major and minor. Simply call us at (405) 407-0784 or schedule online today.
How Does Family Therapy Work?
When you and your family members arrive for family therapy, your counselor will probably ask each of you individually what your goals are for the sessions. Family members often state that they’re looking for variations of the following:
- To reduce tension
- To increase trust
- To forgive someone or ask someone for forgiveness
- To reinforce their family’s strengths
- To improve communication
- To reduce misunderstandings
- To be heard
- To be appreciated
- To make healthy boundaries
- To identify emotional triggers
- To heal estrangements
- To undo grudges
A family therapist’s goal isn’t to assign blame or take sides. They’re skilled at gaining insights into an issue from each person’s perspective and seeking solutions that everyone can agree on.
Family Therapy Techniques and Approaches
Depending on your therapist’s psychotherapy approach, they may use a wide variety of techniques to uncover truths in the family and get everyone to open up emotionally. Thriveworks family therapists in Norman, OK may use enlightening icebreaker questions and exercises to get to know everyone and find out their point of view. A therapist’s approach may be informed by the following modalities:
- Bowenian family therapy is built on triangulation and differentiation.
- Structural family therapy focuses on tweaking the family system so a proper parent/child structure is in place and everyone has appropriate boundaries.
- Systemic family therapy explores unconscious communication and typically requires a therapist to be more distant.
- Strategic family therapy has a more involved, powerful therapist who may assign tasks like homework.
Work with an Exceptional Family Therapist at Thriveworks in Norman, OK
Call today to schedule your first family therapy appointment and find out what makes Thriveworks counselors so exceptional. We look forward to hearing from you—give us a ring at (405) 407-0784.
