Family and the various roles we play in our families throughout our lives impacts us tremendously. For various reasons, families sometimes struggle and can benefit from therapy. Here are just a few of many reasons why you might consider family therapy:

• You struggle to communicate and need skills, as a family, to communicate more effectively.
• Dynamics in your family feel complicated and you need help to see problems and difficult patterns more clearly.
• Your family has been through a difficult time or something traumatic.
• There are longstanding, intergenerational problems in your family system and you would like for your family to shift in a new direction.
• Someone in your family has a problem that impacts the whole family and you need support.

What to expect

Your initial session will take about an hour. It will include an introduction to your clinician. They will tell you all about their practice and answer any questions that you have coming in. They will complete an assessment which can involve your therapist asking personal questions about the family, family dynamics, family influences, family history, and individual family members. Your therapist will want to get a good idea of how your family would like to benefit from therapy. Due to the complexities of family work, it may take multiple sessions to complete an initial assessment. Sometimes it may be appropriate for the family therapist to meet with individual family members or smaller groups within the family separately, but they will not be conducting individual therapy, as your family therapist will view their meetings with members of the family through the lens of family work. Once the initial session and assessment are complete, your therapist will summarize their clinical impressions and will make a recommendation for treatment based on their assessment and, most importantly, your goals. In some cases, it may be appropriate for your family therapist to recommend individual therapists for some or all members of your family as this can be a helpful support during the family therapy process.