Family Counseling
ABOUT FAMILY THERAPY:
Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on improving communication and resolving problems within the family unit. From trying to blend families to discussing the impact of a loved one’s substance abuse issues, there are many instances where families can benefit from family counseling services. Your family’s treatment plan will depend on your unique situation. Family therapy sessions can teach you the skills needed to make your family the healthiest unit it can be for all family members.
Family counseling can help relationships with your children, partner, parents, or other family members. Specific issues, such as financial issues or the impact of mental illness on the family, can be discussed. Our family psychotherapists are equipped to work with families of all backgrounds, including LGBTQIA+ and polyamorous families.
WHO CAN ATTEND FAMILY COUNSELING?
Any family can attend family counseling. Family therapy can include all family members or just those willing to participate in the sessions.
At Anchor Therapy, our family therapists treat:
Children of all ages (If your child is younger than 6 years old, we can assist through family counseling and/or parenting counseling)
Young kids and their parents
Teenagers and their parents
Young adults and their parents
Adults and their parents
The elderly (adults 65 years of age and older)
Polyamorous relationships
Adoptive families
Family therapy sessions may also start as individual counseling. A client may invite their family members to help resolve an issue. Before inviting their family, the client and their individual adult therapist will prepare together for the family session- discussing limits and establishing rules. In addition to working with parents and their children, our family therapists can also work with members outside of the immediate family.
COMMON AREAS OF CONCERN ADDRESSED IN FAMILY THERAPY INCLUDE:
The impact of a family member’s alcohol or drug addiction
General life transitions
Grief, loss, or death within the family
Difficulty communicating in a healthy and constructive manner
Dealing with a child who is exhibiting behavioral problems at home or school
Making your LGBTQIA+ child feel more comfortable in the home
A change in financial circumstances (e.g., being fired, experiencing an increase in financial obligations)
Coping with a family member’s injury or illness
Dealing with a family member’s mental illness
Traumatic experiences (e.g., natural disasters)
Forming deeper connections with your parents, children, or multiple partners
How to be more interactive with your family members
Dealing with a loved one’s trauma (e.g., a family member is a first responder)
What are the benefits of attending family therapy?
Given your family’s unique situation, the benefits you gain from family therapy will vary.
Some common benefits of family counseling include:
Improving communication
Developing healthy boundaries
Teaching the family to work through conflict via healthy coping skills and conflict resolution
Enhancing family dynamics and relationships
Defining someone’s position in the family unit
Providing general strength to the family as a whole
Confronting dysfunctional interactions
Regarding children, family therapy can be especially beneficial to kids who have:
Behavioral issues
Conduct disorders
My family members and I cannot agree on anything. How can family therapy help us?
Family counseling can be used to improve the overall family dynamic. Family members do not always agree with one another, and that is okay. The point of family counseling is learning that it is acceptable to have different opinions than those that are closest to you. You will learn how to use these differences as a way to be valued and understood by your family members.
The home should be everyone’s safe place. If you do not feel safe around your family members, it will be difficult to live your life authentically and healthily. In family counseling, you will learn that therapy is your safe space. Counseling sessions will teach the family about structure. For instance, parents will learn how to be empathetic with what their teenager is going through while still being able to parent.
HOW TO KNOW IF FAMILY COUNSELING IS RIGHT FOR YOUR FAMILY:
Family counseling may be the right choice for you, if your family is experiencing any of the following:
Irritability
Sadness
Tension
Is family counseling focused on one particular family member?
Every single person who attends family counseling will be given the chance to share their experiences and emotions equally. In your counseling sessions, you will learn to communicate with your family members respectfully. Ultimately, you will learn how to not yell at, curse at, or talk over your loved ones. It is important to come in with an open mind. Therapy should be non-judgemental and everyone’s safe space. For family therapy, each member included in counseling should attend each session since those attending in the family are treated as a unit.
WHAT TO EXPECT FROM FAMILY THERAPY AT ANCHOR THERAPY:
If you choose to pursue family counseling with Anchor Therapy, the first session will consist of a typical intake where your family therapist will ask you a lot of background questions to see how they can best help. Not every session will be question-oriented, but the first session is so your therapist can get an overall picture of your family situation before knowing which direction to go with treatment.
What happens after the intake session?
In the first one to two sessions, your family therapist will evaluate the best course of action for your family. Your family therapist will be able to decipher if your family would benefit the most from family therapy, couples therapy, child therapy, or individual therapy sessions. In some cases, our therapists may suggest a combination.
For example, your therapist may find it best to help your child’s behavioral issues by having two individual sessions with your child per month and two family therapy sessions with you, your partner, and your child per month. Or it may be most helpful to have weekly family therapy sessions while each member of the family sees their own different therapist for individual counseling sessions. For children under 6 years old, we always recommend having a parent(s) or guardian(s) present for each session with the child to benefit the most from the counseling sessions.
An example of a family counseling session
Family counseling brings several family members into one room or video call for counseling sessions. It is also important to note that an individual within the family can see a therapist individually as well.
All family counseling sessions at Anchor Therapy are 60-minutes long. However, the frequency of your family therapy sessions and the total number of sessions will depend on your family’s situation and your family therapist’s professional opinion.
During family therapy, you and your family can:
Identify your family’s strengths and weaknesses - For instance, your family may do a great job at physically caring for a chronically ill family member, but you find it hard to confide in one another and showcase your emotions
Analyze your family’s ability to solve issues, express emotions, and discuss thoughts in a beneficial manner
Investigate family roles, rules, and behaviors - For example, you will be able to identify certain behavioral patterns that continuously lead to conflict in your family unit. You will learn how to effectively resolve these problems
How does a family therapist approach family counseling sessions?
At Anchor Therapy, our family therapists understand that each family unit is unique. Every family has different priorities and dynamics which is why our family counselors are trained to alter their therapeutic approach according to your needs.
Given your unique situation, some of our therapists may decide to split some sessions. The family will come in together, and your therapist will get the chance to speak to every family member individually. For instance, if you have a one-hour session and four family members, your therapist may want to speak to every family member for 15 minutes each. Your therapist can then decipher common themes to discuss and work through with your family all together at your next family counseling session.
Your therapist will help you and your family pinpoint your issues so you work collaboratively to resolve them. Once resolved, your family can focus on building and achieving goals. Research has shown that over 90% of people who attend family therapy have an improvement in their mental health.
Are there different types of family therapy?
As mentioned previously, each therapist has their own approach to family counseling. Generally, there are different forms of family therapy.
The different types of family counseling include:
Transgenerational counseling - This includes examining the family unit across multiple generations. The goal of this form of therapy is to see how the family’s past actions influence the present, and current triggers and coping mechanisms. It can even shed light on how some problems may develop in the future since the past can be predictive.
Structural family therapy - Structural family therapy looks at certain issues that may arise in one’s family unit due to their structure. In this type of counseling, your family will learn how to create a functional, balanced family unit and create healthy boundaries.
Functional family therapy - Traditionally, this form of counseling includes a child or adolescent with complex emotional issues or behavioral problems. Together, the family will learn strategies on how to deal with their child’s behavior and improve the function of the unit as a whole.
How should I prepare for family therapy sessions?
Reading this family counseling page is a great way to start your journey towards improvement for not only yourself, but your entire family unit as well! The only thing you need to do to prepare for family counseling is coming to sessions with an open mind and heart. If you want to make changes, it requires vulnerability.
Some things you can consider when attending family counseling include:
Examining your personal feelings regarding family counseling
The family therapist’s treatment style and approach
The family counselor’s goals for your family (e.g., therapy session frequency, how long your family plans to be in counseling for, etc.)
Additionally, you will want your family counselor to also specialize in your family’s given issues. For example, if your teen came out as gay, you may seek the help of a LGBTQIA+ therapist who understands the nuances that come along with this.
WHAT IF A FAMILY MEMBER DOES NOT WANT TO ATTEND FAMILY THERAPY?
If a family member does not want to attend family counseling, it is best to not force them to come. If a family member does not want to be there, change will not happen. An important part of the therapy process is realizing that something is wrong and requires outside assistance from a professional mental health counselor. You must have the realization, take accountability, and be ready to change your response and the family dynamic.
When you force someone to attend therapy, there will be resistance. If this person does ultimately attend the sessions, do not expect change to happen quickly since your loved one and your therapist will have to first work through the resistance.
This resistance can be common with kids and teens. It may be a better first step for kids and adolescents ages 6-17 years old to get comfortable with individual counseling before starting family therapy.
CAN MY FAMILY ATTEND FAMILY THERAPY EVEN IF ALL MEMBERS OF THE UNIT ARE NOT PRESENT?
Even if a crucial person in your family unit decides to not attend therapy, it is still important that you seek counseling if you feel that it could help you. For example, an alcoholic father may not be ready to receive help yet, but his wife and children think that family therapy could be helpful.
In this case, the wife and children should still attend family counseling sessions since the addiction also has an impact on them and their mental health. This can still greatly benefit the other family members as a unit. It is also important to remember that a “no” right now does not mean a “no” forever. There may be a time when your loved one is ready to seek help. In that scenario, you will be ready to respond appropriately by having gone to family counseling yourself.
We are here to support you in whatever your needs are. If you’re interested in treatment, reach out to us directly by filling out the form below. We have psychotherapists who specialize in helping families. We have an office in downtown Hoboken, NJ, and provide telehealth (online therapy) as well to residents of New Jersey, New York, and Florida.
CONTACT US
WORKING WITH US IS EASY
Fill out the contact form below.
Our intake coordinator will get back to you with more information on how we can help your family and to schedule an appointment. We will set you up with an experienced licensed therapist who specializes in family counseling and who understands your and your family’s needs.
You’ll rest easy tonight knowing you made the first step to improve your life for yourself and your family unit.
