Humans are wired for relationship – our brain is a social organ and relationships impact on neurological and mental processes. The core of that social relationship is a family. In family therapy we will work with your family as a system (an interconnected whole). It considers both individual and relational realities. We work with a fact in mind that the consequences of one person’s decisions and actions can affect the lives of all the people who are significantly related to them.
Expect the family therapist to look at the relationships, the interactions, and the communication patterns between the members of the family and to intervene to improve them. The therapist may do so by engaging every member of the family and their perceptions in the process.
Why engage in family therapy?
Do you feel fear and trepidation that the therapist is going to “nail” you as a bad parent? Are you already convinced that the therapist is going to “fix” your child or your partner? Rest assured, neither is the goal of family therapy.
Family therapy is a strengths-based approach. While you are probably coming to therapy because of what you perceive to be a problem, your family is more than the problem. Your family has strengths and inner resources that need to be brought into play.
Who can reach out:
- Family that is going through significant change
- New parents
- Families struggling to adjust to young people’s need for growing independence
- Families with increased conflict and communication difficulties
- Addiction and gambling
- Fertility/pregnancy/postnatal
- Families going through separation/divorce
- Extended family concerns
- Trauma