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.
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.
Family counselors at Thriveworks in Boulder, CO have the necessary skills and training to approach even the most formidable family problems. These licensed family therapists can serve in a variety of roles during therapy sessions. They can act as educators, challengers, mediators, champions, and more. They use evidence-based therapeutic techniques to help families work through hardships and confusion. And they’re highly effective and solution-oriented.
If you think that you and your family might find value in talking to a family therapist, don’t hesitate to reach out to Thriveworks in Boulder, CO. We’re here to help you work through your unique challenges – give us a call today to get started or use our online booking widget to schedule an appointment.
What Do You Learn in Family Therapy?
The sky is the limit for what family members can learn in family therapy at Thriveworks in Boulder, CO. What clients get out of the process is all about what they put in—honesty, commitment, etc. And of course the exceptional quality of the Thriveworks family counselor helps a lot! Family members might learn how to do the following:
- Reduce conflict and distress between family members
- Analyze a past conflict to diffuse lingering tension
- Manage anger
- Listen to each other’s points of view
- Establish healthy boundaries
- Recognize when a family member needs additional interpersonal or professional support
- Build trust
- Use neutral language to improve communication
- Deescalate conflicts
- Learn their emotional triggers
Family therapy can also help show you when individual members need extra professional support. It’s not unusual for a family therapist to refer a mom or dad, brother or sister, to follow-up appointments with their own psychotherapist or psychiatrist.
Domestic Problems That Can Prompt Family Therapy
As for your dirty laundry, you can rest assured that you’re in a safe, secure, confidential environment when you speak to a Thriveworks family therapist, either online or in person. Your counselor will closely protect your family secrets. After all, they have already heard pretty much everything and their job isn’t to judge; it’s to help.
Families come to counseling for an infinite variety of issues. Some may face a disruption like the following:
- Psychological disorders like depression or anxiety, which can afflict the whole family, even if only one member has been diagnosed
- Eating disorders
- Anger management issues
- Physical or emotional abuse
- Nightmares or bed wetting
- Chronic illness
- Caregiver burnout
- Bullying at home or school
- Multiracial family issues
- “Coming out” issues
- Multicultural issues in immigrant families
- Financial struggles
- Alcohol abuse
- Grief from the loss of a family member
How Does Family Therapy Work?
Even the activities that a distempered teenager might perceive as “cheesy” can actually help massage the therapeutic process. But family therapists try to gear their evidence-based practices toward the maturity levels and expectations of their clients. For example, young kids might respond well to art- and play-based activities, while young adults obviously won’t. Some popular family counseling activities include:
- The miracle question, where your counselor asks every family member what miracle they would wish for if one could be granted overnight. It’s a way of gaining insight into everyone’s wishes and pain points.
- Scavenger hunt, where your counselor sends everyone to collect an object of their choice with a broad instruction like, “Choose something that makes you feel safe.”
- Icebreakers like the colored candy go around game, where you pass around candy and each color is coded for a prompt, like red might mean you talk about a favorite family memory.
A family counselor can also adapt these games to be played online if you opt for virtual therapy sessions as opposed to in-person.
Become a Thriveworks Client Today and Meet Your Family Therapist
When you schedule with Thriveworks in Boulder, CO, you can meet your family therapist within the same week as scheduling. Our scheduling team works long hours to respond to your calls personally so you don’t have to hear a voicemail. We offer evening and weekend sessions, and we accept most major insurances.
Our top-rated, licensed, fully qualified mental health providers are ready to help you and your family members on your journey toward lasting harmony—or at least improvements. Call Thriveworks today!
