Melisa McMechen, MA

Family Therapy

 

Family therapy involves sessions with you and your family members. Sometimes the person seeking therapy may feel they are only having issues with one member of the family, but it is best to include the entire family during sessions because interactions between all family members play a part in family dynamics.  Family members may include parents and their children, at times grandparents, or if you are a single parent,  just you and your child or children.

 

Family therapy helps by improving communication between family members, resolving conflicts, clarifying expectations, and strengthening relationships. It can help in dealing with transitions like divorce, relocation, remarriage, or loss and grief, as well as supporting family members with issues such as parenting challenges, mental health, addiction, and poor school performance. Family therapy helps to support the family by assisting members in setting clear boundaries, increasing self-awareness to better manage emotions, and encouraging understanding between family members to create a safe and supportive environment to heal and grow.

 

Through Family Systems Therapy, the family is seen as an interconnected unit in which each member's emotions and behaviors affect the family as a whole. It can also be used together with aspects of other therapy methods such as Gottman’s Couples Counseling and Emotion-Focused Therapy to further help with communication. Each family and their issues are unique, making access to multiple therapy methods an important aspect of assisting you in achieving growth and finding peace.