Family Counseling Approach

Family Counseling Approach

Introduction

Family therapy is a therapeutic approach in which a family is under treatment as a unit, usually with a licensed therapist. The therapist may be a licensed counselor, a family and marriage counselor, or a psychologist or psychiatrist, or for short-term therapy, a pediatrician or general practitioner. Often the choice of therapist depends on the nature of the family's problem.

Family therapy is a process used to address behavioral problems, school problems, chronic or acute illnesses, critical transitional periods, cultural adaptation, and/or communication difficulties. Social problems such as poverty, addiction or imprisonment, and/or separation and divorce that may be found within the family unit may benefit from family therapy (Yochelson & Samenow, 1976).

The focus on cognitions and behaviors in treatment is now widely embraced by marriage and family therapists because of the effectiveness of the approach and its flexibility and integrative potential. This article provides an introduction to the special section and a brief history and overview of the application of CBFT to the field and some of the benefits it can provide to the growing and ever-challenging area of couples and family therapy (Becvar, 2007).

Family therapy is a relative newcomer to the mental health arena. Like the services provided by others in this arena, it is a form of treatment provided to individuals, couples, families, and larger systems by licensed professionals whose goal is to help clients resolve whatever problems they may be experiencing. However, the field of family therapy is unique in its use of a systemic perspective, or an orientation that is relational and contextual. In other words, family therapists focus on understanding individuals in the context of their relationships, and they focus on understanding families in the context of the society of which they are a part. More important than who is in the therapy room (individual or family) is how the family therapist thinks about the particular client or client system. Rather than assessing individuals in isolation, the therapist assumes interdependence and interconnectedness. Rather than searching for the causes of problems, the therapist is more interested in what is going on in the here and now in terms of how the problem is being maintained and what the client's desired goals or solutions are. Although the history of family therapy is relatively brief, licensure for family therapists is now available in all 50 U.S. states, and family therapy is available not only throughout the United States and Canada but also in many other parts of the world. This entry discusses several aspects of family therapy, including historical context, issues amenable to family therapy, effectiveness, with an emphasis on facilitating resilience, training, process, and desired outcomes (Becvar & Becvar, 2009).

Multidimensional Challenges

In some cultures, parents, children, grandparents, cousins, aunts, and/or uncles may live in the same household. Family therapy requires cultural awareness, as a family's language, rituals, customs, and religious expectations may clash with those of the dominant culture. The environment that the children, in particular the females, find in the community may lead ...