Family therapy is a great resource for anyone who considers themselves a family unit. Whether they are just a couple who are getting started, parents and children, and even adults, this type of therapy is designed to help make things right and look for ways to leave the past behind. If there is despair and pain present, this therapy is going to help everyone get through it together.
There are different types of family therapy that you can choose. These include structural therapy, strategic therapy, narrative therapy, trans-generational therapy, and communication therapy, explains Endeavour Wellness, who specializes psychology in Sutherland Shire. All of these work in slightly different ways to help the members of the family work through the different issues that can come up. The right one will depend on the family, the situation that warrants therapy, and more.
Family therapy can help to right a lot of wrongs and help everyone come together to work as a family once more. Let’s take a look at the different types of family counseling that you can choose for your family.
What are the Types of Family Counseling?
Families will need to work with a therapist to learn more about the different forms of therapy and to decide which one is right for them when trying to work through the healing process. Some of the most common types of family counseling include:
Structural Therapy
With structural therapy, the counselor is going to learn more about the roles that are assigned to each member of the family and the power that they have. They can then help the family safely redistribute this power. The counselor will want to work on developing an interaction with all of the members rather than just doing an individual analysis. The overall goal through this is that the therapist will try to help the family come out of the constraints that they put themselves in so they can flourish as a stronger unit together.
Strategic Therapy
For this one to work, the therapist needs to already understand the conflict and patterns of interaction between the members of the family. They will then try to help the other family members to become more aware of these patterns too. To get this done, the therapist will provide assignments to each individual in the family to encourage them to interact with others in the family. This method may work well if there are really dominant family members who tend to talk over and not listen to the others.
Narrative Therapy
Narrative therapy is a model where the person will be asked to be their own self and utilize some of their own skills to address some of the issues that they face. This also lets them look more at some of the issues that show up for them each day, allowing them to handle them smoothly. The point of this one is to let the individual create a story for themselves so they can deal with their routine issues. They can then use this as a guide as they go through challenges each day.
Transgenerational Therapy
Sometimes the problems that are present in a family go across generations. That is why trans-generational therapy may be the best option. In this therapy, the counselor is going to work to understand the intergenerational relationships and the conflicts of each member. They will also work to break down some of the destructive and problematic beliefs that will cause issues between two or three generations. This is a very good option if there are two generations who live in the same home, as conflicts are likely to arise in these situations easily.
Communication Therapy
Most of the other therapy options are going to work a bit with communication therapy. The family will not come together and succeed if they are not willing to communicate with one another. There are some situations where family members may not be good at communicating at all.
Other times, differences in communication across generations could be the culprit. In communication therapy, the counselor is going to help family members learn how to effectively communicate with one another, addressing the issues so they can work together. This includes both parties being ready to be open and talk with one another, but it is effective.
Choosing the Right Family Therapy Model for You
Each of these five options for therapy is a great way for your family to come together and work through some of the issues that may be bothering them. It is a good idea to work with the counselor to learn more about what method is going to be the best for your needs. The counselor will be able to discuss the different options available for your family to provide the best results overall and then can help you and your family work through any issues and challenges you are facing.