Family Counseling
Counseling can be very effective when the entire family is involved. At RIMS, licensed family therapists provide emotional support, education and guidance to strengthen the family unit.
If a family member is recovering from a mental illness, family counseling is very helpful. The therapist can help family members coping with alcohol or drug concerns. With a therapist’s help, family members can resolve conflicts and learn new strategies for handling problems — to develop more positive relationships.
For example: Family therapy helps family members cope if a relative has been diagnosed with a mental health problem like schizophrenia or depression.
In the case of addiction, the family can attend family therapy while the person with an addiction participates in a residential treatment program.
Several family members typically come together for therapy sessions. However, a family member may also see a family therapist individually.
The therapy is often short term — less than six months. However, the number of sessions you’ll need depends on your family’s situation.
How family therapy helps
In therapy sessions, the family can work through frustrations and disagreements. If communication between family members has broken down, a family therapist can help bridge that gap.
In family therapy, you can:
- Examine your family’s ability to solve problems and express thoughts and emotions
- Explore family roles, rules and behaviors to identify issues that contribute to conflict — and ways to work through these issues
- Identify your family’s strengths, such as caring for one another, and weaknesses, such as difficulty confiding in one another
In the end, the person in recovery will be better equipped to cope with their challenges, and the entire family may understand the situation better – to provide better support.