John Donne famously wrote, “No man is an island, Entire to itself. Each is a piece of the continent, A part of the main.” Our families are the bigger whole, to which we are a part. At The Pavilion, in Williamsburg, Virginia, we recognize the value to our patients in offering support to their loved ones, in order to strengthen the entire family system.
Why Families Should Consider Attending Therapy Together
When one member of a family is going through something difficult, it often impacts other members of the family too. This may just be because they love one another, or it may be because of shared genetics or shared trauma. Regardless of why they do it, family members often find that engaging in therapy together helps them all, even if they didn’t individually need therapy.
Topics for Family Therapy
Family therapists can help you manage problems that are creating difficulty within the family group. Some of these might include:
- Conflict between members of the family
- Substance misuse and addiction and related problems, such as codependency
- One or more family members struggling with a mental health disorder or other special need – Family therapy is especially helpful for families where one or more person has received a diagnosis of anxiety, eating disorders, personality disorders, or schizophrenia
- A child’s school or behavioral challenges
- Issues with extended family
- A medical issue or death in the family
- Infidelity
- Separation, divorce, and custody issues
Even if there is only one member who is receiving individual treatment, family therapy can help the entire family group to practice setting boundaries, manage expectations for the future, and learn what changes will help the person in treatment to be most successful in maintaining their progress. It may also help the healing process if the person in recovery caused harm to others in the family before seeking treatment, and the therapist is available to help them take accountability for their actions and learn from their mistakes.
What to Expect During Family Therapy
A family therapy session is facilitated by a therapist, who will probably start by talking to each family member, to understand:
- The nature of the problem
- How each person views it
- When it started
- How the family has tried to address the issue already
This will typically lead to a treatment plan that helps the family navigate the situation together. This will likely involve problem-solving and communication strategies. Family therapy probably won’t make the problem disappear, but it might make it easier to manage and help people find healthier ways to deal with their stress and frustration related to the problem.
Benefits of Family Therapy
Even if you don’t feel like you stand to gain anything from family therapy, your presence may be highly beneficial to your loved one. Studies have found that family participation increased the likelihood of patients:
- Being better engaged with treatment
- Completing the full course of recommended treatment
- Attending more sessions
These are all correlated with better results for the individual patient. On a broader level:
- Almost 90 percent of people who engage in family therapy reported improved emotional health.
- More than 65 percent of people reported better physical health.
- About 73 percent of parents who engaged in parent-child therapy reported that their child’s behavior improved.
Benefits for Seniors
Because older adults may need their families to intervene to ensure that they receive the most appropriate level of care, family engagement and education can be especially important in ensuring that they have the information and support they need to make choices with or for their older family member.
Barriers to Successful Family Therapy Outcomes
Family therapy isn’t as likely to be successful if:
- There are members who are not able to be open and honest during sessions
- Anyone in the group is not open to making positive changes
- The members fail to follow the agreed-upon treatment plan
- Participants are not able to handle some temporary difficult feelings during the therapeutic process
At The Pavilion, we help adults, seniors, and their families to navigate emotional and behavioral disorders, including depression, anxiety, behavioral disturbances, and substance misuse. In addition to family therapy, we offer a structured therapeutic environment with medication management and education, symptom management, nutritional consultation, individual, group, recreational, and expressive therapy, care coordination, discharge, and aftercare planning.
