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 members are usually so close emotionally that it’s hard to disentangle from a conflict and find the insights necessary to find resolution. Sometimes family issues require an unbiased outsider’s guidance and perspective. That’s where family therapy at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK can help. If you think your family could benefit from talking to an unbiased, professional third party, reach out to Thriveworks today to schedule an appointment.
What Is the Role of a Counselor in Family Therapy?
A licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) serves as an effective facilitator in family therapy sessions. The highly qualified, top-rated, fully licensed counselors at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK support each family with expertise and compassion. They help family members see issues from each person’s perspective, and they give families the tools they need to solve their problems. Family therapists aren’t there to take sides or tell one family member that they’re to blame. Their job is to support the whole family in whatever way they can most benefit.
People come to family therapy with a wide variety of objectives, including the following:
- Reconciliation
- Improvement of communication and overall rapport
- Reduction in conflict and tension
- Forgiveness
- Establishment of healthy boundaries
- Anger management
- Building mutual trust
- Substance abuse issues
- Exploration of misunderstandings
- Modification of problem behaviors
Sometimes a family’s goals revolve around a force they can’t control like financial stress, a chronic illness, or a death in the family. Other times, one family member’s mental health condition is affecting the family as a whole. In that event, family therapy can help everyone process their feelings and find healthy ways to cope. A family therapist can also help direct an individual to private mental health resources.
What Is the Best Way to Conduct a Family Therapy Session?
There’s no one best way to conduct a family therapy session. Even the basics can vary. For example, the licenced counselors at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK can meet with clients in-person, in the modern office, in the traditional way. But they can also meet with clients virtually, in online counseling sessions. Family members may find online sessions more comfortable and convenient for group counseling, and Thriveworks therapists are open to both virtual and in-person options–or even a hybrid model.
A family therapy session should begin by putting everyone at their ease, whether through icebreaker exercises, games, or something else. A therapist will want to understand everyone’s individual goals for the sessions. A therapist will also want to make sure everyone gets a chance to speak and feel heard. It may help to think of a family therapy session as a safe zone where everyone’s voice matters. A family therapist can help keep communication within certain guidelines to help foster understanding.
In family therapy at Thriveworks in Oklahoma, OK, counselors may harness any of the following psychological approaches:
- Milan
- Strategic
- Structural
- Systemic
- Communication theory
- Narrative
- Transgenerational
Schedule Family Therapy at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK
Family therapy at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK is an exceptional way to show your family that you care and that you’re willing to put in the work to figure out your differences and strengthen your family relationships. The mental health professionals at Thriveworks are all fully licensed and accept most major forms of health insurance, making marriage and family therapy at Thriveworks all the more affordable. Whether you need to address specific issues or reinforce existing bonds, Thriveworks has a counselor for you.
When you call to arrange a family counseling session at Thriveworks in Oklahoma City, OK, a counselor can often meet with you within the week. plus, we offer evening and weekend sessions. Call today to schedule your first session with an experienced, qualified family therapist. We look forward to helping you and your family members!
