Are you considering family therapy?
Family therapy is appropriate in a variety of situations, and these are some of the reasons you may be interested:
You have a child or teen in therapy, and realize or have been told that while working to change behaviors, emotional reactions, or improve relationships with siblings or parents, other changes need to be made at home.
Family therapy may be utilized to improve a parent and child’s relationship, and to address problems
with following rules, doing homework, attitude, disrespect of parents or siblings, and choices, etc.
Sometimes families feel life is chaotic and unmanageable, and that any efforts at imposing structure have been unsuccessful. Often there are underlying communication problems – difficulty clearly expressing both emotional and physical needs; making assumptions instead of clearly requesting the desired response; and failing to accept responsibility, following through on commitments.
Families dealing with major disruptions in their life i.e., moving, job change or loss, a child going off to college, changes in health, death of a parent or grandparent, etc.
After young adult children have left home, and are living independently though continue to remain somewhat financially dependent, there may be challenges negotiating expectations.
A change in elderly parents’ abilities or needs; or responding to changes in an adult sibling with special needs – seeking assistance in problem-solving, resolving conflicts between siblings, or defining each one’s role.
Adult siblings may seek family therapy to address unresolved conflicts from childhood, having ripple effects in other relationships.