Back to front pageFamily therapy
Family therapy deals with relational problems between family members. Issues usually have to do with problems between a parent/parents and a child/children. The various developmental phases of families, the formation of a new combined family, and multicultural backgrounds also bring challenges to family life.
Like couple therapy, family therapy studies ways of being in relationships and seeks changes in communication and relational interchange. It aims to bring positive movement into frozen situations. Even a small change can act as a catalyst for greater changes. The goal is more to experience change than to produce it in others. This lays the main emphasis on empowering the family to identify and utilize their own dormant resources. The family is the agent of recognition and change – the family therapist is an auxiliary to this change.
Family therapy is started by the family or a family member attending an opening session. After an evaluation of the situation, decisions are made about who will be involved in future sessions. Family therapy sessions also usually take place at intervals of 2 – 4 weeks.