What Happens During Family Counseling Sessions?

When your family faces obstacles like non-stop fighting, stressed relationships, or breakdowns in communication, it can be hard to imagine how things could be different.

These conflicts may not only be stressful but can, over time, result in damage to relationships and family connections.

Family therapy can play a crucial role during difficult circumstances by providing families with the skills and techniques to overcome their differences and function as an effective team.

This therapy is a formal and deliberate form of counseling that differs from a typical family meeting. Still, it facilitates discussions that help the family work through conflicts, address barriers to effective communication, and identify problematic patterns of behavior.

Types of family therapy.

There are various approaches to family therapy, each employing distinct perspectives and tools to help families identify core patterns of communication and interaction, clarify misunderstandings, and develop healthier responses and interaction patterns, including structural, strategic, systemic, and functional family therapy.

Many of these therapies share commonalities, as they are all designed to help produce similar outcomes in your child. However, the best therapy for your child will depend on what you want treatment to achieve for your family.

What is Family Therapy?

Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy that aims to promote better communication and understanding between family members. It can encompass anyone who is considered part of the “unit” of the family, including birth family, chosen family, play family, friends of the family, or anyone who is in some way connected and dedicated to the well-being of one or more family members.

Most forms of family therapy employ a family systems approach, which views the family as an emotional unit where each member is essential. At the same time, the family as a whole is also implicitly or explicitly considered. It is a family problem because when one or several family members struggle, everyone feels a negative impact. Similarly, the betterment of the family benefits all.

This systemic approach by a therapist does not imply that anyone’s particular family member, need, or concern will not be addressed; it only means that it will not be discussed in therapy in a way that is disconnected. For instance, if a family member is experiencing behavioral problems at school as well as at home, family therapy will address the issues as they appear on the surface. Still, it will include all family members in terms of psychoeducation, problem-solving skills, and training on how to communicate what you need, respond with skills to strong emotions, and manage specific underlying issues that may be triggering acting out.

Furthermore, family interventions are usually time-limited, solution-focused treatments. At the beginning of therapy, your family will collaborate with the therapist to come up with goals to work on in the sessions (usually, 6-20 sessions, although sometimes sessions go longer, depending on your family’s needs and response to therapy). Goals focus on resolving issues, enhancing communication and the bond, managing conflicts, and learning to solve problems.

Standard Family Therapy Interventions

There are several tools that family therapists use to support family members in developing, fostering better communication, and addressing specific problems. Although every therapy plan is tailored to your family’s particular needs and based on your therapist’s philosophy, most sessions will include techniques to improve communication, problem-solving, and emotional intimacy.

• Enhancing Communication: Therapists provide instruction on skills such as active listening, giving attention to trying to appreciate one another’s points of view without interrupting and jumping in, using “I” statements to convey feelings in constructive ways and minimize blame, and instruction in assertiveness and boundary setting.

• Coping Skills Building: Families learn coping skills to manage stress, deal with emotions, and navigate difficult situations, which can be applied during family conflicts or at any point in life's struggles to reduce stress.

• Goal Setting and Problem-Solving: Therapists help families break down bigger problems or goals into smaller steps and work together to problem-solve around family struggles.

• Enhancing Emotional Connection: Therapy can focus on teaching the necessary interpersonal skills to create an emotionally validating context, whereby family members can learn to emotionally validate one another (without the immediate dismissal of the other’s feelings) or how to use solution-based dialogue and reflective listening to strengthen the ability to understand and empathize (further activate critical thinking) within the family.

Types of Family Therapy

Here is a general explanation of family therapy: Family therapy is a comprehensive array of therapeutic tools that can be used with your family. It's like a developer's kit for helping your children or other family members achieve a happier and more secure family. Each school of therapy has a distinct orientation and targets goals in different ways. Thus, the most effective therapy for your family will be the one that aligns with your family’s specific needs and goals. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it includes some of the larger therapy types available.

Additionally, therapists may only use one of these formats. Other therapists work flexibly, utilizing multiple models and elements from a range of therapeutic schools, including family therapy and potentially different disciplines such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). We suggest researching potential therapists to learn about their experience and style of working with families and then deciding based on your family's needs and your goals for therapy.

Structural Family Therapy

The roles, boundaries, and hierarchy that emerge in the family system are what structural family therapy focuses on. The “structure” is the invisible machine that controls how family members interact with one another, from the way a family wields power to how we communicate and support one another. Therapy focuses on reorganizing family boundaries, hierarchies, and roles to facilitate the development of healthier relationships.

One of the best aspects of structural therapy is that it is effective in treating dysfunctions stemming from boundary confusion, enmeshed relationships, and power imbalances. But it may not be the best fit for every family. For example, families with members who are not ready for therapy will typically include therapist-directed interventions to push on and develop or modify current interactional practices.

Systemic Family Therapy

Systemic family therapy is based on systems theory, which sees the family as an interlocking system in which the behavior of one member affects the others. Here, a “system” means all the family members’ dynamic interactions, patterns, and relationships. Subsequent family therapy takes these connections into account and works to identify and change any pattern that causes stress or conflict.

One of the significant advantages of systemic couple or family therapy is that it is a future- and solution-focused therapeutic framework, making it particularly apt for working with families who face complex issues, such as intergenerational struggles, entrenched negative communication patterns, or disconnected relationships. It’s also highly effective for families looking to be proactive at improving overall connection and interaction patterns for overall family wellness.

Strategic Family Therapy

Strategic Family Therapy: Strategic family therapy examines each family member’s interactions and their impact on the family structure.

It is a short-term therapy that focuses on finding practical solutions to current problems, as opposed to an in-depth analysis of past emotions and experiences.

The strategic features include the therapist's active role in structuring and enacting interventions focused on intervening in unhealthy patterns of interaction to promote positive change, as well as a focus on short-term goals and solutions that address specific problems in interactions among family members.

Strategic family therapy focuses on specific interaction difficulties (e.g., communication problems, behavioral issues, or frequent arguments) and is particularly useful for families seeking brief treatment (Vetere, 2001). It can be a beneficial method if parents have lost their leverage over rebelling kids.

Functional Family Therapy

A specialized, short-term intervention for families with troubled adolescents (aged 11 to 18 years), family therapy is the core treatment component of FFT. The work begins by establishing coalitions among family members, building rapport, and removing negativity and blame. This environment of trust creates a way to address behaviors, focusing more on reducing the negative and promoting the positive, and generates a healthier family environment.

As a short-term, goal-focused therapy, it can help manage a narrow band of concerns—defiance, substance use, delinquency—in teenagers. Still, it’s not the best choice for addressing wider aspects of a family dynamic.

Find an Expert Family Therapist Today with Healthy Families Albuquerque

Family therapy offers a safe, structured setting for helping family members develop improved communication processes, discover stronger connections, and address problem issues. Whether through managing behavior issues and conflict or creating an environment for emotional connection, family therapy can help bring about positive and lasting change.

At Healthy Families, we know that families come in all shapes and sizes, and some face more challenges than others. Our highly skilled therapists, counselors, and licensed social workers specialize in evidence-based techniques and can tailor a therapy plan to meet your family’s specific needs. We aim to provide a safe training ground where families can come together to grow and learn to face life’s challenges as a team effectively.

If you and your family are prepared to take the first step toward building a stronger, healthier tomorrow, call us at 505-842-9911 to schedule an appointment in our office or online to begin your wellness path.