What is family therapy?
Family therapy helps families resolve conflicts and strengthen their relationships. It is led by qualified mental health professionals like psychologists, licensed professional counselors (LPCs), and licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) who have extensive training in family dynamics and group communication.
How does family therapy work?
Thriveworks family therapists in Hoffman Estates, IL usually begin by asking what everyone’s goals are for family counseling. Family members may need help with very specific issues or with general relationship functioning. But there are three main purposes in family counseling: to educate, to counsel, and to strengthen. Thriveworks also offers online family therapy and in-person services, so you may all meet in an office together or join a video call from your home depending on everyone’s location and availability.
What is the most effective family therapy?
The most effective form of Family therapy will often depend on the family itself, as there are many types of family therapy for therapists to use as they see fit in order to best meet the needs of their clients. However, one of the most commonly used types of family therapy is structural family therapy (SFT). SFT focuses specifically on family dynamics and interactions, looking at how they shape the relationships and structure present in the family. It can be effectively used to treat a variety of concerns.
How do I know if my family needs therapy?
This answer often looks different to each family that starts family therapy. However, some signs that your family might need to consider family counseling include frequent fights or misunderstandings, constant tension, experiencing loss, behavioral issues, marital issues, divorce, and blended family issues, among others.
What is included in family therapy?
In family therapy, therapists will often start by asking questions and assessing individual and family dynamics. From there, they may employ therapeutic techniques such as structured family therapy, CBT, strategic family therapy, and more depending on the present concerns and conflicts. From there, a therapist will work to open lines of communication between family members and facilitate emotional healing and growth.
What is the success rate of family therapy?
Family therapy can be incredibly successful, with some studies reporting a success rate of almost 90% for improving participants’ emotional and mental health, and around 66% for improving their physical health.
Is family therapy conducted in person or online?
Thriveworks therapists in Hoffman Estates, IL offer both online family therapy and in-person family therapy. We encourage you to choose the option that works best for you.
How long does family therapy last?
Family therapy is usually short term and solution-focused, with most families accomplishing their goals in 12 sessions or fewer. However, it can also last for longer if the probles at hand are more complex — and that’s okay, too.
Need more help deciding?
Marriage and family therapy sessions at Thriveworks in Hoffman Estates, IL provide a safe environment where family members can explore what’s working well and what could use improvement in their family dynamics. Family therapy is a way to solve problems, improve communication, develop coping skills, and reinforce existing strengths.
The Thriveworks mental health professionals who have training in family therapy will develop treatment plans based on extensive feedback from family members themselves. Call our office today at (224) 267-9477.
What Are the Indications for Family Therapy?
There are no specific “symptoms” or indications that a family could benefit from the work of marriage and family therapists. These kinds of interventions aren’t just called for in crises. The family therapy providers at Thriveworks in Hoffman Estates, IL see all kinds of families, for every kind of concern. But it’s often the case that an acute issue within the household like the following first brings a family to therapy:
- Mood disorders like major depressive disorder (MDD), bipolar disorder (manic depression), and postpartum depression
- Anxiety
- Grief
- Financial stress
- Marital or parenting conflicts
- Social work
- Eating disorders like bulimia or anorexia
- Behavioral problems
- Neurodiverse children issues
- Infidelity or remarriage
- Substance abuse or addiction
- Juvenile delinquency or crime
- Estrangements
- Bullying
- Emotional or verbal abuse
- Chronic illness
- Caregiver burnout
- Codependency
- Distrust
- Perfectionism
- Blended family issues
- Unhealthy parenting styles
- Attachment issues
How Does Family Counseling Work?
Family counseling works by finding solutions to specific issues within families, usually in the short-term, within 12 sessions or fewer. Family therapists and social workers often focus on problem-solving based around their clients’ unique goals. For example, providers at Thriveworks in Hoffman Estates, IL may help clients achieve any of the following objectives:
- Healing or reconciling after conflict or estrangement
- Improving overall rapport
- Reducing tension in the household
- Forgiving, or asking someone for forgiveness
- Establishing healthy boundaries
- Getting through a life transition
- Process a death or illness
- Talking through one family member’s eating disorder or mental health condition
- Managing anger
- Learning coping skills
- Build mutual trust
- Explore misunderstandings in a safe, supportive zone
- Learn how to prevent future conflict
How do therapists help their clients accomplish these goals? They might use a variety of clinical approaches like family systems, attachment and commitment therapy (ACT), and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). These methods are a lens through which family members can examine meaningful elements that contribute to family dynamics, things like:
- Everyone’s role within the family
- The family’s implicit strengths and weaknesses
- Unspoken rules and codes of behavior
- Patterns of communication
- Individual points of view
- Emotional triggers
- Historical context
Reconnect with Your Family with Thriveworks in Hoffman Estates, IL
Thriveworks family therapists can meet with clients in-person at the modern office in Hoffman Estates, IL, or virtually via online counseling session. Call today to meet the family therapist who will get everyone talking—dial (224) 267-9477.
