4 Key Features of Family Therapy That Make It Work

This post was developed via a partnership with BetterHelp.

Family therapy is a broad term used to describe various techniques that are used to help families overcome a variety of issues that can affect how members interact with each other. This article will share some ways family therapy can mend your relationship with those closest to you so that you can have a happier and healthier future together.

1. It Brings People Together

In order for family therapy to work, all members should ideally get involved. While there might be some resistance, which is a common issue that many families face initially, getting everyone involved in the same place to talk with a mediator present allows them to share their thoughts and feelings, which can be extremely difficult to do on your own in a domestic setting.

If you have family members who are reluctant to try therapy together, do your best to try to discuss why you believe therapy can be helpful and let them be a part of the process of finding a therapist. However, if they are unwilling to go, instead of getting upset, try to hear them out and their reasoning, and if that doesn’t work, you can still use therapy as a way to improve yourself and what you can provide to your family.

2. It Instills Honest Communication

The root of most relationship problems has to do with communication issues, and families are no exception. A family therapist will work closely with you and your family to identify these problems so that you can find ways of addressing them in a positive and productive way.

This will help relieve and prevent a lot of tension that can be ever-present in many families. However, communication isn’t exclusively related to conflicts, and improving it can address other aspects that are important to social relationships, like being more involved in your kid’s lives and being a better parent or maintaining intimacy with your spouse. Therefore, even happy relationships can become stronger through family therapy.

3. It Creates A Support Network

In addition to getting people in the same room and learning how to effectively communicate with one another, working through these problems will build trust, and this will ensure that you’re all playing on the same team.

Knowing that you’re loved and supported by those around you can help members overcome issues that collectively affect the family, such as both physical and mental health problems and coping with life-changing events and crises like moving away, losing a job, grief, and divorce.

4. It Shows You How To Solve Problems & Cope With Them

Although bringing a sense of togetherness and talking about problems is a crucial part of how family therapy works, there needs to be a way for people to find solutions to them, and this can be learned by working with a professional. Yes, communication issues are most likely present, but what kind? Maybe it’s anger issues, or perhaps boundaries need to be set and respected.

These are specific problems that can be honed in on and resolved. Eventually, if you commit to family therapy, you can use what you’ve learned to develop systems that work for everyone, especially regarding being open about one’s feelings and emotions and how to process them.

Family Therapy Resources

There is a lot you can learn about family therapy and what it can offer, and if you’re interested in reading more about it, BetterHelp can not only help answer your questions about it but also guide you in getting connected to a professional therapist online.

For many households, online therapy makes it easy to get families together due to the ease of scheduling and not having to commute to a location, both of which make it easy to look forward to and commit to regular sessions and see tangible and steady improvements in the family dynamic.

Conclusion

Whether your family is stuck on how to overcome issues that have been a thorn in its side for too long, or you just want to learn how you can build a stronger bond with those who are already closest to you, family therapy can work wonders. Give it a shot; you will change the relationship between your family members for the better.