Couple and Family Therapy

Family Therapy or Family Counselling is designed to address specific issues that affect the psychological health of the family, such as major life transitions or mental health conditions. It may be used as the primary mode of treatment or as a complementary approach.

The Benefits of Family Counseling

Families can benefit from the therapy if they have experienced any stressful event, such as, financial hardship, divorce, or the death of a loved one, that may have strained family relationships. In addition, it can be effective in treating mental health concerns that impact the family as a whole, such as depression, substance abuse, chronic illness, and food issues, or everyday concerns, like communication problems, interpersonal conflict, or behavioural problems in children and adolescents.

Family counselling by MindYog aims to promote understanding and collaboration among the family members in order to solve the problems of one or more individuals. For example, if a child is having social and academic problems, therapy will focus on the family patterns that may contribute to the child's acting out, rather than evaluating the child's behaviour alone. As the family uncovers the source of the problem, they can learn to support the child along with other family members and work proactively on minimizing or altering the conditions that contribute to the unwanted behavior of the child.

Meeting with a Family Therapist

Family counselling is provided by licensed marriage and family therapists (LMFT). Other mental health professionals — such as professional counsellors, social workers, and psychologists — who have received formal training in Family Therapy approaches and incorporate the required principles into their work.

This mode of therapy in MindYog is solution-focused and short-term, with as few as nine sessions required, on average. Meetings are often held once per week and typically last for 50 minutes. The number of family members who attend each session may vary, depending on therapy goals, and often a therapist will offer individual sessions to supplement the family sessions. Family counselling is conducted in a variety of settings, including family counselling services, community agencies, and residential treatment centres.

Family Therapy Approaches

Most forms of Family Counselling borrow heavily from systems theory, though there are others based on psychological approaches such as experiential, cognitive-behavioural, and psychodynamic. Family Systems Therapy contends that the internal dynamics of the family system can often produce and sustain problematic behaviours in family members. All Family Therapy approaches are designed to help families improve communication, problem-solving, and coping skills, and enhance their sense of connection to one another.