Family Therapy Idaho Falls Residents Can Rely On

Humans learn habits, customs and rituals, vocabulary, perception of the world, how to interact with others, and how to love from their families.

The goal of family therapy may widely differ, depending on your family dynamics, and ultimately aims to develop and maintain a functional family unit.

By looking at the bigger picture, the family unit as a whole, you will be able to view the system or patterns that need to be adjusted.

These benefits include enhanced communication within the family unit, improved problem-solving, increased empathy, reduced conflict, and an increased understanding of healthy boundaries. This is especially beneficial when a member of the family is struggling with a medical or mental health diagnosis or addiction, during a divorce or separation, death, or behavioral issues in children.

What Is Family Therapy?

Our family therapy in Idaho Falls is a type of psychotherapy that focuses on the interactions of an individual with his or her family, close friends, and other important people in their life. Family therapists treat individuals as well as couples and groups within the context of their family unit or social network.

What Happens During Family Therapy?

Family therapists work to improve emotional communication between members of the family unit, resolve conflict, reduce tensions between families, encourage positive behaviors within relationships (i.e., better communication between parents and children), and teach effective problem solving methods.

The main goal of our Idaho Falls family therapy is to help individuals understand how their emotions affect those around them and allow them to make better choices in their personal lives as it relates to members of their family.

What to Expect form a Family Therapist

In order for a family therapist to get an understanding of the dynamics within a family, he or she will collect information from each member individually.

Members should expect to be asked questions about their feelings and personal experiences in a safe space. The family therapist should clarify any misunderstandings, help set goals for individual members, and start a dialogue that will encourage open communication between all members.

As a mental health professional, your Idaho Falls family therapist takes an objective third-person view of conflicts occurring within families and makes no assumptions about the veracity of any family member’s statements. He or she does not take sides with one family member against another.

Family therapists are interested in solving problems, which they see as embedded within the structure of the system itself, and not necessarily between or among individual members. The therapist seeks to help each member become aware of how their behavior affects others in their family (both positively and negatively).

Family therapists can also address mental health issues and can help with marriage counseling, couples counseling, group therapy, general counseling services, and other therapy options.

When Should You Consider Family Therapy?

You should consider family therapy if you can see that there is a pattern of interaction among family members and the pattern (or system) seems to be negative or detrimental. Because each member of your family is part of an interlocking system, change in one person affects the other members.

Family therapists will accept families into their practice that are experiencing a wide range of problems.

Successful family therapy requires that each member be willing to take part in the process and to communicate honestly and openly with the therapist and other family members. This means that if one or more individual(s) cannot or will not work with you as a team, then your family probably should not pursue family therapy as an option.

How Often Does Family Therapy Work?

There is no one definitive answer to this question as the success of family counseling / therapy depends on a variety of factors, including the specific problem being addressed, the dynamics of the family system, and the therapist’s approach.

However, most studies have found that family therapy is generally more successful than individual therapy in treating a wide variety of problems. In some cases, our Idaho Falls family therapy may be effective after only a few sessions, while in other cases it may be necessary to continue for several months or even years. Ultimately, it is up to you and your therapist to decide whether or not family therapy is working.