Family Therapy | Innova Recovery

Family Therapy vs. Individual Therapy

Familial bonds are one of the strongest, if not the strongest, connections an individual can have with another. But while these bonds are special, they can still be affected by various family-related problems and misunderstandings. Family counseling helps mend this relationship between family members so it can be strong and healthy again. Compared to individual therapy, where the focus is placed on an individualʼs personal struggles, the focus of family therapy is on the people within a family unit.

How Family Therapy Can Help

Family counseling allows a family that is experiencing troubles to come together in a neutral space and address the issues at hand with a family therapist. The source of the conflicts is varied but well-known, often ranging from financial problems to communication difficulties between parents and their children. And these conflicts worsen because family members are unable to share, understand, process, or cope with the situation. With Innova Recovery, families can:

Explore how they can resolve family issues in a forward-moving way and share what they feel and think in a productive manner
Explore elements of the family to understand the issues that start or add to their conflict, and then discuss how to get through them
Explore and enumerate the strengths and weaknesses of the family

Family counseling is often done alongside other mental health treatments. This happens when one family member is trying to recover from substance abuse or has a mental illness and everyone else wants to better understand what their relative, sibling, parent, or child is going through. Family therapy can help prevent a condition or addiction of the affected individual from getting worse by increasing the awareness of every family member.

What to Expect

Family counseling is usually conducted by a licensed therapist or psychologist. Therapy is short-term and will include willing members of the family - all of them, if possible. During each session, the therapist will ask questions, such as when the issues first arose and what has the family done so far to resolve them. From there, the therapist will put together a treatment plan suited to the familyʼs situation. The goal of this plan is to encourage the family to communicate and work together so they can solve the problems effectively. Family counseling can help: