What is Family Therapy?
Family relationships are critical to children’s success at home, at school and in the community. As their primary safe space, it is critical that families be well-equipped to manage the ups and downs that life brings to them. At Therapy Smarts, we believe in the power of family therapy approaches to help children turn challenges into triumphs.
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What Is Family Therapy?
Family therapy is a group form of talk therapy, centering around relationships within the family and various behaviors. Families — including parents, grandparents, caregivers, children and others— are seen together, in a group and sessions tend to center around specific situations or mental health conditions seen within one or multiple family members.
A few examples may include:
- Adjusting to a major life change, such as moving across the country.
- A death in the family and the experience of grief.
- Managing relationship conflicts, such as between two siblings, or a caregiver and child.
- Medical conditions faced by a member of the family.
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Types of Family Therapy
Family therapy is not one-size-fits-all — and based on the specific situation the family is hoping to work through, the kind of therapy they benefit from may vary. A few types of therapy include:
- PCIT (Parent Child Interaction Therapy): This therapy, designed for families with children between age 2 and 7, is intended to equip parents and caregivers with the valuable tools to manage difficult behaviors in their children, like big emotions, anxiety and troubles at daycare or preschool
- Systemic Family Therapy: This therapy looks at each family member individually and examines the context of their behaviors relative to their roles within the family (as a romantic partner, a parent and a child to their own parents), holistically.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: This therapy, when undertaken within the context of a family, helps to identify and examine the source of negative thought processes, emotions and behaviors to understand the connections between thoughts, feelings and actions.
Wondering About Developmental Milestones?
Have questions about your child’s development, or wondering if a certain diagnosis may be a fit? Try out our developmental screening tool— it’s a fast, free way to get a snapshot of your child’s progress on his or her developmental milestones.