Family Therapy helps people in a close relationship help each other.

It enables family members, couples and others who care about each other to express and explore difficult thoughts and emotions safely, to understand each other’s experiences and views, appreciate each others needs, build on strengths and make useful changes in their relationships and their lives. 

Family Therapy doesn’t mean seeing all family members at every session. Depending on the circumstance, I may have parent only sessions, meet all the children together, whole family sessions or just one family member. Even when I just meet with an Individual, I am still thinking about them and their challenges as a part of their family system. 

Family therapy is particularly effective in helping family members:
–  Develop new ways of understanding difficulties together
–  Improve communication and closeness when moving through difficult life transitions 
–  Develop a parenting/ behaviour management plan tailored to your children/ adolescents specific temperament
–  Heal together from grief and loss
–  Establish clear boundaries with each other, i.e. negotiating the input and impact of extended family/ friends on your couple
   relationship, as new parents, or when needing extra support (single parenting)  
–  Heal past relationship ‘injuries’ and maintain relationships into the future.
–  Experience corrective attachment experiences and strengthen secure family relationships. 

The Australian Psychological Society (APS) has recently noted family therapy as a Level 1 treatment for various child and adult conditions in their recent published results for ‘Evidence-Based Psychological Interventions in the Treatment of Mental Disorders: A Review of the Literature’ (2018). This is the highest rating that can be applied to a specific therapeutic approach. The report can be viewed HERE.

Family Therapy is considered a ‘level 1’ intervention in the treatment of childhood:
–  ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) 
–  Substance use disorders
–  Anorexia Nervosa
–  Bulimia Nervosa
–  Conduct and oppositional defiant disorders
–  Adult psychotic disorders

… and as a Level 2 adjunct intervention in the treatment of:
–  Adult depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar, anorexia nervosa and substance use disorders
–  Childhood bipolar, psychotic disorders
–  Adolescent conduct disorder

Broader research shows Family Therapy is useful for children, young people and adults experiencing a very wide range of difficulties and experiences, such as:
–  Couple relationship difficulties
–  Child and adolescent mental health issues
–  Adult mental health issues
–  Child, adolescent and adult behaviour difficulties
–  Parenting issues
–  Relationship conflict resolution
–  Illness and disability in the family
–  Separation, divorce and step-family life
–  Anorexia, bulimia and other eating disorders
–  Fostering, adoption, kinship care and the needs of ‘looked after’ children
–  Domestic violence and abuse
–  Self-harm
–  Drug and alcohol misuse
–  The effects of trauma
–  Difficulties related to ageing and other life cycle changes.

Family Therapy aims to be:
–  Inclusive and considerate of the needs of each member of the family and other key relationships in people’s lives
–  Recognise and build on peoples’ strengths and relational resources
–  Work in partnership ‘with’ families and others, not ‘on’ them
–  Sensitive to diverse family forms and relationships, beliefs and cultures
–  Enable people to talk, together or individually, often about difficult or distressing issues, in ways that respect their experiences, invite engagement and support recovery.

Sourced from: Association for Family Therapy & Systemic Practice