Family and Group Therapy
Family and group therapy are similar, but different at the same time. When a family seeks therapy it helps a family to articulate and address a problem that affects the family as a whole. From divorce or re-marriage to an illness or other major life-changing issues, each person will be allowed to discuss how the issue affects them and the family will come together to help solve each person’s issue. In the example of re-marriage and integration of family members, one person may be just fine with the new family while another may have a problem adjusting. Knowing the entire immediate family is there to support can be very helpful.
Group therapy brings together a group with a common issue and helps each person overcome that issue through talking it out and learning from each other. Depression, suicide survivor, and anxiety/ panic attacks are just a few of the topics a group can discuss. Like family therapy, each person discusses how the issue affects them while other members offer support and encouragement on how they overcame the problem.
It is never a bad idea to supplement family and group counseling with individual therapy.
Services I Offer for Families and Groups
Family Therapy
Not everyone in a family will see things the same way as each other. Parents will see things from a different perspective than children. Even parents may see things differently from each other.
Issues Families Face:
- divorce or re-marrying
- extended family moving in or out
- mental illness in family
- moving or other transition
- death in the family
It is important to remember there should be no finger pointing or blaming in family therapy. Everyone is hurting and ganging up on one person is not the answer.
Support Groups
Support groups bring together people with the same problem and help them to overcome the problem. Generally, what happens in the group should stay in the group. Support groups can be open or closed. With an open group, anyone can come or go as they please. Open groups do not always have a set length of time and can last for years with people coming and going. Sometimes there are guest speakers. A closed group meets for a certain amount of time for a certain length of time help the members work out problems. Whichever kind of group you join be ready to share your thoughts and emotions and listen to others do the same.
A Few Issues that Groups Discuss:
- depression
- anxiety or panic attacks
- men’s or women’s’ issues
- gender identity
- sexual issues
- mental issues
- relationship issues
- military issues
This list is not all-inclusive and there are groups for almost anything you can imagine. If I am not running a group for what you need, we can find you a group.