The Family Therapy Service
Children and Young People
What is family therapy?
Family and systemic psychotherapy – also known as family therapy- can help those in significant relationships to better understand and support each other. Family therapy may be useful for children, young people and their families experiencing a wide range of difficulties. When a young person struggles it can affect the whole family. As a service, we believe that families are an important part of a young person’s progress and we value the role that families can make towards change.
Family therapy enables family members to express and explore difficult thoughts and emotions safely, understand each other’s experiences and views, appreciate each other’s needs, build on family strengths, and work together to make useful changes in their relationships and their lives. Family therapists believe that everyone in the family plays a part in helping to create positive change to move things forward.
Family therapists respect the importance of each person’s beliefs, culture, and life experiences.
There is a difference between the need for family work, where some clinicians with some training in systemic methods will be confident to take on this work, compared to more highly complex work that requires a qualified family therapist and possibly a team and screen approach.
How does it work
When we have problems we can get stuck with one view of the problem. In family therapy sessions, the family therapist works with you to uncover different ways of thinking, reacting and living together. It is the aim of the therapist to help families and individuals talk about their hopes, and work towards their own goals as a family.
The time between sessions is also important and allows you to experiment with doing things differently…this is when the real work happens!
Who can attend?
Family therapists understand that different people have different ideas about what ‘family’ means, so family is used to describe any group of people who care about each other and call themselves a family. As well as parents and children of all ages, this may include grandparents, siblings, extended family, friends and other professionals. Sometimes it may be helpful for all the family to come together, at other times parents may find it useful to come alone, or the therapist may suggest different combinations of family members.
How many sessions will we be offered?
Every family is invited to an initial family therapy assessment appointment to meet the therapist. This first appointment is an opportunity for the therapist to get to know you and your family, think about your situation, and consider what you would like to explore and change. During this meeting, you will have the opportunity to ask any questions you may have and you and the therapist can decide together how many family therapy sessions would be helpful.
