Family Therapy in Los Angeles

Comprehensive behavioral health treatment facilities for adults in a safe and comforting atmosphere in Southern California.

A family therapist consulting a mature couple

What is Family Therapy?

Also known as family counseling, family therapy is a form of psychotherapy. It focuses on building and maintaining healthy family relationships. Family therapy promotes understanding and working together to problem solve. It does not view an issue as merely the individual’s problem, but as something that affects the whole family unit. In family therapy, family members will learn how to communicate their needs and how to support each other.

Some people feel like seeking help from a therapist is a sign of weakness. However, it is actually the total opposite. It takes strength to admit that the problem is bigger than someone and they can handle it without help. In conclusion, if someone that proud person who strives to appear perfect to the outside world, it’s best to remember that their family is more important than pride.

Family therapy in helps with the following:

  • Behavioral issues in children and teens
  • Sibling conflicts
  • Parent-child conflict
  • Divorce
  • Death in the family
  • Chronic health problems within the family
  • Caring for special needs family members
  • School issues
  • Mental health issues

When to Seek out Family Therapy in Los Angeles

When a person has reached the end of their rope or is just ready to give up on living a happy family, take 1 last step and reach out for help. If members of their family are experiencing any of the following symptoms, then it is time to reach out for help today.

  • Normal family routines have become difficult. The family energy is not as it has been.
  • Communication is a challenge. Is the “silent” treatment the new normal? Is there a disconnect in understanding each other?
  • Emotional outbursts. Is there more screaming than talking? Is every reaction excessive?  
  • Traumatic event. Has there been a death in the family? Are the parents separated or divorced?
  • Behavioral issues. Are the children out of control? Is there trouble at school?
  • Feeling hopeless. Does the situation feel worse? Is the stress too much to handle?
  • Mental health issues. All mental health problems take their toll on the family unit.
  • Threats or acts of violence. Has the roughhousing gone too far? Has playing resulted in angry outbursts?
  • Withdrawing from life. Is someone spending more time outside the family circle?

What is a Family Therapist Trained to Do?

A family therapist is trained to play many roles when treating a family. Because of the many roles they play, formal education and hands-on training are extremely intense. From starting the bachelor’s program to the master’s degree to internship and supervised experience, it will take almost 10 years to complete their training.

Family therapists will develop their own treatment plans and techniques, they must all be proficient in the following areas:

  • Marital issues
  • Domestic violence
  • Depression and anxiety
  • Grief counseling
  • Infertility
  • Behavioral issues
  • LGBTQ issues

Therapists must be able to:

  • Observe the family unit
  • Diagnose and treat mental disorders
  • Evaluate and treat relationship issues
  • Guide a family through a crisis such as a divorce or death
  • Treat problematic patterns
  • Find alternative positive behaviors for negative ones
  • Take a holistic approach to treatment and not always a clinical one

Start Family Therapy in Los Angeles, CA Today

Individual psychotherapy is important for people who live with a mental health disorder, but most mental health disorders can be considered a family issue. Fortunately, the caring staff of Montare Behavioral Health is waiting to help you and your family through our therapy services in Los Angeles. Don’t let mental disorders continue to divide your family. Contact us for help.

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Benefits of Family Therapy in Los Angeles

Family therapy is a “holistic” approach to healing all aspects of the family dynamic. With the guidance of a therapist, family members are safe to express themselves in a controlled environment.

The benefits of family therapy include:

Systemic Therapy

Systemic therapy believes that if the family is balanced, then the family is good. In systemic therapy, the therapist focuses on the emotions and feelings of each member of the family and the influence these feelings might have. The therapist will help rebuild the family dynamic while ensuring each individual feels heard.

Structural Therapy

When a member of the family is suffering from mental conditions, it alters the family dynamic. It changes the way things are done in the house, the amount of time given to each member of the family, and even the role that certain members play. Along the same line as systemic therapy, structural therapy focuses on the following objectives:

  • Family interactions
  • Family structure
  • Family response to needs
  • The role of the therapist

Narrative Therapy

Narrative therapy believes that the way we interpret our problems is revealed in the way we tell our stories. Every person feels like the way they see an issue is the correct way it happened. But the benefit of each member of a family telling their story is that, by working together, the truth of the situation can be shared.

Transgenerational Therapy

This type of therapy is used with multiple generations living under the same roof. After all, it can be stressful when the older generation doesn’t understand the younger generation, with the middle generation caught in between.

Older generations often have a hard time understanding mental disorders. Sometimes they think that a mental health disorder is just a behavioral issue that requires a little “tough love.” They need family therapy to understand how to live in the house. In transgenerational therapy, the therapist seeks common ground and equal understanding between the generations.

Types of Family Therapy in Los Angeles

Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy

One of the most common types of therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy is a hands-on approach to problem-solving. The focus of CBT is to change one’s way of thinking in order to change feelings and behavior.

The common goals of CBT are:

  • Identify specific issues
  • Raise awareness of unhealthy thoughts and feelings
  • Identify negative thoughts and develop tools to make them positive
  • Learn new behaviors

Strategic Therapy

Strategic therapy is a form of therapy that helps develop a plan to solve the problems within a family. There are 5 initial stages of strategic therapy that a therapist will help someone through on the initial visit.

  • The Brief Social Stage. The therapist observes the family and encourages all members to participate.
  • The Problem Stage. The therapist asks questions that reveal problems within the family.
  • The Interactional Stage. The family is encouraged to discuss their issues in more depth.
  • The Goal Setting Stage. The issues are identified and goals are set to fix the issues.
  • The Final Stage. The therapist assigns tasks for the family that will help them reach goals.

While many forms of family therapy encourage the family to come up with ways to fix the issues, in strategic therapy the therapist has more of a say when it comes to problem-solving.

 

Is Family Therapy Temporary or Long Term?

Some families are interested only in fixing the issues at hand. Other families believe that the benefits of family therapy have made such a difference that they want to continue. For families trying to find balance in the battle with mental disorders, it is highly recommended that family therapy be a long-term treatment. Even when mental disorders is under control with therapy and medication, it is important that the whole family feels happy and healthy.

Continued family therapy can enable a busy family to enjoy some designated together time. After all, as families grow and grow up, it can grow harder to find time together. Meanwhile, it can become easy for someone to feel unimportant. During this time, it’s important to talk about and fix any issues before they become big problems.

In conclusion, every member of a well-balanced family feels heard and loved. Our family therapy in Los Angeles can heal families, enabling them to become healthier and happier.

Man experiencing benefits of family therapy in Los Angeles

Discover a life of happiness.