Family therapy: What It Is and Why It Matters

Marital conflicts, job changes, situations of dependence, or even a family member's death. In situations like these, family therapy can help express feelings and thoughts in a healthy way, provide a fresh perspective on close relationships, and overcome the challenges of family life. Find out what it entails and why it's crucial.

What Is family therapy?

Family therapy is a therapeutic approach that focuses on addressing issues and dynamics within a family. The primary goal is to improve communication, resolve conflicts, promote mutual understanding, and strengthen relationships within the family.

This therapeutic approach operates on the premise that an individual family member's problems are interconnected with the overall functioning of the entire family. Instead of solely focusing on the individual with the issue, family therapy seeks to identify and address dysfunctional interaction patterns, shared beliefs, and inadequate communication systems that may contribute to the problems.

Family therapy can be beneficial for a wide range of issues, including marital conflicts, communication problems between parents and children, addictions, eating disorders, grief, developmental issues, and more.

What Are the Limitations of family therapy?

Like any therapeutic approach, family therapy has some limitations and challenges that are important to recognize.

1. Member Participation
The psychotherapeutic process can involve the entire family or only select members, depending on the presented issues. However, the effectiveness of family therapy often depends on active participation and involvement. In such cases, it is up to the therapist to work with the family to understand and address these barriers, finding ways to facilitate members' participation in the therapeutic process.

2. Complex Dynamics
Some families have particularly complex and deep dynamics that can be challenging to address and change. Altering behavior and communication patterns can be a difficult and time-consuming process. Often, the roles played by each family member may need to be reassigned to establish healthier functioning.

3. Individual Issues
Given that the focus of this therapy is on family dynamics, it does not delve deeply into the individual issues of each family member. It is essential to recognize that each person has their own needs, challenges, and personal issues that need separate attention. This is particularly crucial in cases of severe abuse or trauma that cannot be adequately addressed in family therapy. The family therapist should identify when an individual issue is relevant and requires separate treatment.

4. Gradual Results
Changes in behavior, communication, and family dynamics do not occur immediately but rather over time. It is common for families to resist change, especially when accustomed to dysfunctional patterns. As family members work together to promote a healthier and more functional environment, positive results begin to emerge. Continued commitment to the therapeutic process leads to significant transformations over time.

When to Consider family therapy?

The primary situations that prompt people to seek family therapy include:
• Birth/adoption of children.
• Parenting challenges (from childhood to adulthood).
• Couples feeling isolated due to children leaving home.
• Couples in their senior years.
• Illness or grief processes.
• Difficult relationships and family conflicts.
• Communication difficulties.
• Difficulty coping with changes or transitions.
• Breakups or separations among family members.
• Mediation in cases of separation or divorce.
• Any other situation causing stress or conflict.

Moreover, family therapy can also be beneficial in functional and fulfilled families, aiming to achieve greater self-awareness, personal development, and strengthening of resilience and emotional relationships.

Family therapy at Joaquim Chaves Saúde

Joaquim Chaves Saúde has a team of certified and experienced family therapists to help your family overcome any challenge. Here, you can find a safe space where dynamics can be understood, and relationships can be strengthened. Take the first step toward a more harmonious family environment and schedule your appointment now through the personal area of the website or our app.