Family Therapy and Treatment
Common Concerns for Families
Times of Transition
Times of Loss
Times of Trauma
Issues that don’t resolve, such as conflict, distance, values differences, addictions
Obstacles to trust, such as affairs, lies or important omissions
The goals of Family Therapy include many of the following: to increase the healthy functioning, emotional maturity, satisfaction, and success of the entire family, not just an individual member.All family therapists strive to help families improve communication. Meeting with the whole family can enhance the strengths that family has as a unit and aids the group and individual members in noticing, modifying, and improving in areas of weakness, thus increasing the supportiveness and wisdom within family life. The gains within the family can be carried to other areas of each family member’s personal life and benefit other important relationships, with friends, neighbors, at work, or at school.
Some family therapists are willing to meet with a motivated sub-set of the family to assist them to make some changes. In this way, due to the mechanism of homeostasis, often the reluctant family members naturally but more slowly will make some healthy changes in response to the changes made by the “leaders.”
Often family therapy can be used on a one-time, or an occasional basis, to help the family serve as a more knowledgeable support system to the client seeking to improve his/her life. Sometimes the support system needs support (!) new ideas, and understanding. All of these can help the family to function in a more useful and balanced way with one another.
Some form of family therapy is often recommended when children are having problems. It can be very useful to know how the two parents see the problem. If they have two strongly differing views and approaches, the conflict can get played out in the child in the form of confusion, distressed emotions and behavioral acting out.
In terms of EMDR therapy, if a client wishes, they may sometimes invite in a partner or friend to one or more trauma processing sessions. It can help a supporter to feel empathy in a way they may never have felt before.
Secondary Traumatization
Also, partners and other loved ones may find that dealing with a dear one who has a long term disorder (whether physical or emotional) may be rather traumatic in itself. It can be traumatic to see your loved one suffering or functioning poorly. If this is you, you may want to do some trauma work on “secondary traumatization,” or the effects of watching another person experience trauma, depression, anxiety or other highly distressing symptoms. Depending on the comfort and preferences of the individuals, this can be done individually with the therapist, or with both persons present.
An EMDRIA-Certified EMDR Therapist may suggest family therapy, or the client can request it. A good support system, whether made up of one’s biological family or one’s “adopted” family of friends, can be a great help to everyone.
