Family Therapy

We all know the importance of family – it sets the foundation of our lives. What we learn and experience and how we interact within the family can greatly influence how we see and function in the world.

The family is a complex system of distinct yet interconnected components. Within that system, we create patterns of communication that often impact present and future relationships.

Because each of us is unique, our inner lives and outer circumstances will likely not always align exactly with the people around us, especially within the family’s closer confines. This can sometimes lead to miscommunication, emotional separation and even hostility.

Family therapy at Eunoia Counseling creates a space where families can express issues and concerns, work through them and heal relationships in ways that draw them back together into peace, patience, compassion and love.

What Is Family Therapy?

Family therapy aims to address psychological, behavioral and emotional challenges that can cause conflict, turmoil and stress in a family.

We can visualize family bonds much as we would trees. The tree roots represent our family of origin, which doesn’t have to include only parents and siblings – it can also comprise those we were closest to as we developed during childhood.

Similar to tree roots, our family roots can be anchors that strengthen the rest of our life. As they teach us and present us with examples about love, trust and security, they inform our value system. We might not adopt all we learn within our family of origin, but we do form many thoughts, outlooks and feelings from it.

Our roots also shape our mental, emotional and spiritual health later in life. For example, in childhood, ideally we will learn how to interact with others and respond to life’s joys and difficulties. This equips us with coping skills and resilience that help us persevere.

In some cases, however, a tree’s root-system soil might be missing the right nutrients, suffer trauma from external elements (e.g. branches, pipes) or be damaged from improper trimming. When this happens, it impacts the health and growth of the whole tree.

Similarly, families of origin can lack proper love and nurturing, undergo disruptive traumas or injure children through accidents or abuse. Then, out of this, people with entirely different backgrounds and root systems can also form other new families with potentially new variations of relational confusion and conflict.

When you engage in family therapy at Eunoia Counseling, you look beneath the surface at what might interfere with a strong and healthy family foundation. In doing so, you tend and till the soil with the ways to make it supportive and nourishing for your family.

When Family Therapy Can Benefit You

Novelist George A. Moore said, “A man travels the world over in search of what he needs and returns home to find it.” Most of us desire a loving, peaceful family life where we feel heard and understood in safety and acceptance.

Life is imperfect and so are we, so we may not have a family that feels safe and stable all the time. Signs that your family could benefit from therapy at Eunoia Counseling might include:

Sometimes family strife can continue despite our own best efforts to help limit or resolve it. When you acknowledge that professional support might benefit your wish to restore peace and heal, you show maturity, strength and humility. You also gather the right “nutrients” for a family tree that can flourish.

How Family Therapy Can Benefit You

Family therapy is a proactive choice to enhance and mend relationships in your family. Your Eunoia family therapist will serve as your reliable navigator in passing through the port in the storm.

Your family therapist will listen to and validate each member’s perspectives so that everyone feels heard and expressed. We know from much experience how rewarding it is to watch a family’s interactions become increasingly loving, patient, understanding and kind through dedication and practice.

Types of Family Therapy

From a clinical perspective, family therapy can be approached in diverse ways according to the circumstances. The following are a few different types of family therapy.

Family systems therapy – Focuses on helping people use the strengths of their relationships to overcome mental-health problems.

Functional family therapy – A short-term treatment, it’s often applied for young people experiencing problems with risky behavior, violence or substance use. It helps teens and their families look for solutions while building trust and respect for each individual.

Narrative family therapy – Encourages members to tell their own stories to understand how their personal experiences shape who they are and how they relate to others. The different narratives allow each member to begin viewing problems more objectively as opposed to interpreting things only from their perspective.

Psychoeducation – Centers on helping family members better understand mental-health conditions. By knowing more about medications, treatment options and self-help approaches, members can function as a united support system.

Supportive family therapy – Focuses on creating a safe environment where families can openly share what each individual is feeling with increasing understanding from the other members.

In some cases, a family might benefit most from a particular therapy type. In others, a multimodal approach including different treatment-type aspects may best suit the family’s objectives for its relationships.

Family Therapy Near Me: Contact Us Today

Eunoia Counseling believes in the essential role of the family. We support family healing and growth by ensuring you have access to the therapeutic tools and techniques that will adapt to your specific circumstances. If you would like to further discuss therapy for your family, contact us at (630) 340-8747 or info@eunoiacounselingnaperville.com.