Family therapy is a type of psychological therapy that can help family members improve communication and resolve conflicts. Therapy may include all family members or only those willing or able to participate. Your family-specific treatment plan will depend on the nature of your family’s situation. Therapy sessions can teach you the skills to get through difficult times, even after you have completed the sessions.
During therapy, Stephanie encourages family members to work together to reconnect and strengthen their bond, and find inventive solutions. Family therapy can be beneficial in any family situation where there is conflict, grief, stress or anger. Specific issues that may bring a family to therapy could include the loss of a family member; physical illness of a family member; siblings not getting along or a troubled marriage.
Family therapy will naturally follow a different path to that of individual therapy, but the basic principles, including openness and communication, remain the same. When a family is in crisis, everyone involved needs to express their thoughts and feelings in a safe and facilitated space that allows for open communication as well as understanding. Everyone in the family does not have to agree with each other, or even like what they hear- this is not the point of engaging in therapy.
The purpose of therapy is to create an environment in which couples and families are able to describe what their struggles are and how this has affected all of them in different and unique ways. Following which, each individual’s emotional and psychological needs are acknowledged before therapy can start exploring the ways in which each person’s needs may be met in their relationships with others.
Sessions typically take 60 – 90 minutes. Family therapy can be short term — with just a few sessions needed to re-set the family dynamics. However, the number of sessions you will need to attend will depend on your family’s particular situation.
Please note that sessions are charged at medical aid rates.