Benefits and Types of Family Therapy
If you are looking for love that has no reservation, you have to go to your family. Ideally, a family is bound by selfless love-the kind that will not abandon you in times of need. Your family is a unit with members who will love and support you, no matter what.
In reality, however, very few families can stay ideally strong 100 percent of the time. Most families have issues, not because they are weak, but because conflicts are natural. Unfortunately, these conflicts can also weaken family ties through misunderstandings, anger, strained family dynamics, unmet expectations, etc. Avoiding conflict isn’t a realistic way to strengthen your family ties, but family therapy is.
Differing Views: The Root of All Conflicts
Having dissimilar perceptions and takes on various matters is healthy for any family. It can potentially become unhealthy when these different views are conflicting or clashing and the family isn’t communicating the way it should. The tricky thing is the bigger a family, the more clashing opinions there are.
For instance, a couple with one child may have an easier time making decisions because there are fewer people to consider in the process. If you have an extended family, making rules could be more complicated. A teenager may perceive rules as an attempt to control them. A grandparent supporting either party can be viewed as interfering. Even the parents may not agree on strategies for disciplining their teen.
Family love may deter everyone from further complicating the differences, so as not to make them bigger. It can, however, mean keeping their intense emotions bottled up. While this can effectively prevent an immediate confrontation, it doesn’t work in the long run. Like a volcano, the brewing conflict can erupt, hurling harsh and painful words. Resolving conflicts with the assistance of an experienced family therapist is a healthier option.
The Basics of Family Therapy
Despite the differences and clashing views, you would not dream of ripping your family apart. “In the face of all aridity and disenchantment” your family is still “as perennial as grass”-loving you without “ifs or buts.” However, wouldn’t you prefer to have a family that is resilient in the face of all your challenges? If you are looking for a way to fortify your family ties, you can’t go wrong with family therapy.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “Family therapy is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy),” which EFTA says is “a well-established and evidence-based approach alongside other psychotherapeutic modalities.” It is a type of therapy that assists families in improving their communication and interaction systems for the purpose of resolving their conflicts and reducing their distress.
Family therapy is based on the premise that each family is unique with a culture all its own. To successfully address a family issue, treatment can’t be limited to the members exhibiting symptoms. “To treat only the member who is identified as ill is like treating the symptom of a disease, but not the disease itself,” says WebMD.
Reaping the Rewards of Family Counseling
Family therapy is a productive approach that can serve the interest of not only the affected members, but the whole family. After all, healthy family relationships benefit all the members. So, when one member is struggling with a medical issue or several members are having conflicts because of communication problems, seek out family therapy.
It is an effective approach because it is comprehensive and considerate of the respective needs and relationships existing within a family system. It aims to work “with” families and their strengths, rather than “on” them. It recognizes the uniqueness of each family and their culture. It also works by bringing the conflicting members together during therapy. In these ways, the whole family is engaged in a productive effort to settle differences and resolve the issues, while fostering continuing support for each other.
The Family That Heals Together
The enormous love that binds your family can make forgiving possible, but healing is not guaranteed. Often, settling family issues on your own means simply “forgiving and forgetting,” which is why they can recur and threaten to harm your relationship further. If you want to bring back harmony in the family or fortify your family bonds, the key is to resolve your issues in a healthy manner. You can do this with the help of a family therapist contracted with Carolina Counseling Services in Pinehurst, NC.
A professional licensed therapist can facilitate your conflict resolution in a safe and unbiased environment. An impartial setting has the positive effect of encouraging participants to be more agreeable and cooperative, because they perceive the outcome to be objective and fair. To maintain the love that binds your family, don’t wait for your issues to snowball-commit to family therapy with a reliable therapist independently contracted with Carolina Counseling Services in Pinehurst, NC, to withstand more vicious and larger storms in the future.