Family Systems Therapy

Family is the basic unit that offers emotional and social support to an individual for shaping behaviours and forming relationships. Techniques of family systems therapy work on solving unresolved conflicts and addressing other broken dynamics that may affect an individual’s mental health. This blog discusses what Family Systems Therapy is, the various benefits of Family Systems Therapy, and what Family Systems Therapy can help with.

What Is Family Systems Therapy?

Family systems therapy is a type of psychotherapy according to which a family is an interconnected unit. The criteria that it works on is that if an issue affects one member of the family, it affects the entire family. This therapy examines how generational factors, the community an individual was born in, and the culture he or she grew up in have shaped him or her.

How does family systems therapy work?

• Therapists enable an individual to embrace individuality while balancing family influence.
• Three-person dynamics shape emotional stability and relational patterns. These are studied in nuclear families to understand conflict and dysfunction.
• The therapy aims to know if parents displace anxiety onto children or if differentiation patterns expand across generations.
• Sibling position, emotional cutoff, and emotional processes in a family are traced and analysed.

Benefits of Family Systems Therapy

Here are certain key benefits of family systems therapy:

• Improves the Functioning of Families
  Family systems therapy effectively addresses certain psychological challenges and makes familial ties stronger as it supports networking. Members are encouraged to understand each other and indulge in healthy conversations.
• Better Collaboration
  Working together to solve problems is what a family does best. When each person works efficiently towards a common goal, the therapy strengthens relationships and ensures faster recovery of the patient.
• Proper Communication
  This therapy works on improving interpersonal communication between members of a family. Dysfunctional patterns are recognised and worked upon to build stronger relationships.
• Prevents Long-Term Issues
  Family systems therapy helps sort out challenges and transitions, reducing the risk of long-term issues. It works on building resilience among members and trains members to cope with negative habits.

What Family Systems Therapy Can Help With?

Family systems therapy can help an individual to cope with:

• Chronic health issues like diabetes, high blood pressure, or other serious health problems caused by diseases. Managing these problems can be time-consuming, which family systems therapy can solve.
• Life changes like getting a new job, settling in a new city, dealing with marital issues, and so on can take a toll on an individual’s health. Family systems therapy can help an individual deal with changes more proactively.
• Psychological issues can be challenging to deal with individually. So a therapist can administer family systems therapy to educate the family about the disorder and prevent relapse once the treatment is over.

Techniques of Family Systems Therapy

Therapists use the following techniques of family systems therapy for treating patients:

Couples Therapy
Every marriage has a conflict, and family systems therapy works on resolving these conflicts. Through couples therapy, partners are encouraged to address disagreements by communicating and strengthening their relationship by working on themselves.
The therapy includes cognitive behavioural therapy and other behavioural therapies for reinforcing positive behaviour. Techniques to solve problems around intimacy, poor habits, finances, or any other external stresses are discussed and implemented.

Intergenerational Therapy
Intergenerational therapy helps families identify generational patterns that influence how a person leads his or her life and governs behaviours. This can be problematic as certain ideas of previous generations get outdated. Intergenerational therapy addresses these ideas and teaches ways to evolve with time.

Narrative Therapy
Patients curate a narrative of their lives by including experiences, behaviours, and roles while uncovering patterns. For example, a patient can explore how childhood neglect influenced their fear of rejection and is being reflected in his or her relationships.
In narrative therapy, patients voice their problems, observe the story as an outsider, and deconstruct it to gain clarity. This way, patients learn to connect with others emotionally and foster personal growth as the problem.

Psychoeducation
Psychoeducation includes teaching and training members of a family how to deal with certain situations. The aim is to counsel them on how to respond to circumstances that arise because of disorders. Empathy and compassion go a long way, so psychoeducation teaches members to deal with disorders smartly to prevent relapse.

Structural Family Therapy
Structural family therapy starts by decoding the structure of a family by drawing a map and learning about the number of people, their genders, their ages, the education they receive, and the life they lead. Therapists train people to maintain their boundaries, share empathetic relationships, and correct imbalances in relationships.

Strategic Family Therapy (SFT)
SFT focuses on resolving behavioural issues of children by addressing family dynamics. Therapists work on changing interaction patterns, improving the functioning of a family, and supporting the emotional health of children.
The therapy starts with creating a therapeutic alliance with the family, followed by diagnosing the family's behaviour patterns. Problems are addressed by changing ways of communication, parenting skills, and conduct resolution.