General5 Scenarios Where Family Therapy Is Necessary

Family forms an essential part of the social fabric and acts as the first support system of every individual in society. What if a family does not function as it should? Will it guide each member to a better path to success, or will its very existence destroy a person’s foundation?

There is no perfect family, and each family has its challenges and tribulations to fix. In most cases, the intervention of an outsider is required to address the problem better. Professionals like psychologists, therapists, or clinical social workers usually step in to bridge gaps and resolve conflicts through family therapy.

What is Family Therapy?

Family therapy is a type of psychotherapy utilized to help family members understand each other better to resolve conflicts together to create an ideal family environment.

The benefits of family therapy is that they can help dig the root cause of hurt and pain in several instances and improve family connections through a series of activities. The therapy goals include:

• Improving communication among family members;
• Learning strategies on how to handle conflict as a family;
• Strengthening the relationship among members; and
• Improving the relationship of each other so that problems will not exacerbate.

Here are some scenarios where family therapy may be necessary:

1. Substance Abuse

Many factors influence addiction, and in most cases, family is in the front and center of it.  A substance use disorder is very challenging to treat. Still, treatment plans for younger ones involve the family because an addict may begin using dangerous substances because of estrangement, resentment, and anger toward a family member.  Family therapy aims to restore balance and resolve issues to help the patient cope with ill feelings, thereby transforming these issues into more positive ones. Ultimately, family therapy will aid in avoiding taking dangerous substances completely.

2. Grief

A family member dying of a very complicated disease, like cancer or an unexpected accident, can bring a once cohesive family to disarray.  Making sense of what happened could be difficult, especially if other factors are involved like blame, finances, caregiving, and inheritance. This kind of complicated grief can be hard to navigate and only a nonmember can assist the entire family to function normally and reach an adaptive outcome.

3. Mental Health Disorder

A mental health disorder of one family member can greatly affect the dynamics of an entire family. It’s not just the patient who is stressed, but even the other members.

Depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, eating disorders, and bipolar disorder all have their roots within the family.  Some family members may not understand the patient’s situation, but this and acceptance are the first crucial steps to healing.

Family therapy may uncover the root cause of the disorder and when this happens, a better treatment strategy involving the family may be devised. In this particular scenario, therapeutic activities may be employed to mend strained relationships among family members. This is crucial in the patient’s treatment plan because unresolved conflicts within the family tend to make the illness worse and much more difficult to treat.

4. Blended Family Setup

A ‘blended’ family is a term used for families as a result of parents remarrying and both sides are with children. Combining two once separate units with varying personalities and very pronounced differences can be chaotic, and the transition will not be easy.

Forming bonds will take time. When issues escalate and other family members get severely affected, mediation may be needed to sort through the weave of complicated feelings and emotions. This way, tensions will be cooled down and sides will be heard without bias.

Family therapy can help by setting boundaries with discipline, parenting, and finances, and establishing the role of each member of the family in keeping the entire team tightly knitted together.

5. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

If left untreated, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may lead to suicide. PTSD usually stems from a violent event like a bloody military experience, an accident resulting in death, or a sexual attack. Most people who underwent these abhorrent events may respond with substance abuse, aggression, and social isolation, which could gravely affect the entire family.  Family members who are witnesses can be a target of aggression, and this could go on for a long time and only an expert can help in putting a halt to it.  The patient’s traumatic experience may be healed through family therapy partnered with other modes of treatment like medication and behavioral therapy.

Conclusion

A healthy, happy, and thriving family will create happy and successful individuals. Most societal challenges originate from the family, and not surprisingly, resolution can also be formed within. It may take a stranger to help a family restore its balance, but at least there’s hope that things may go back to normal with the intervention of an expert.