Family Therapy—Counseling in Alexandria, VA (Franconia)
For better or worse, for rich or poor, every person’s life is interwoven with their family and each member of the family. People learn social behavior, emotional processing, and ethics in their families. Family patterns are passed down from generation to generation. Sometimes, people love their families and want to emulate everything they learn. Other times, people react to their families and want nothing to do with them. In either case and all the shades in between, families are the context to understand individuals.
Families can flourish when everyone contributes in a meaningful way and when everyone’s needs are met. But this balance is difficult to achieve and maintain. It is not hard for families to fall out of equilibrium. The list could never end, but these are a few examples of times family units may have a hard time:
- Insufficient communication or no communication has led to hostility or frustration.
- A special-needs family member needs particular care and attention.
- Disagreements on parenting styles have left children confused and with behavior problems.
- A financial crisis has left the family scrambling to fill unexpected roles.
- Someone’s anger is taking its toll on other family members.
- Family members have grown apathetic and cold toward one another.
- A cycle of behavior is harming the family over and over again.
When these dynamics or countless others make life tough for families, they may need an outside perspective to get back on track. The goal of family therapy is to create a safe place where families can name the challenges they face, connect about ways to overcome those challenges, and adjust life so that individuals and the whole family benefits.
Family counseling through Thriveworks Alexandria offers families that safe space. Our therapists and psychologists know that every family needs help at times. We love seeing families grow closer through their challenges and rebuild a happy balance to their lives.
What Difference Could Family Therapy Make?
The techniques that family therapy utilizes are built upon the foundational idea that each person’s identity, patterns of behaviors, and belief structures are inherited from their family of origin. Knowing an individual means knowing their family context. Family therapy, therefore, can help an individual or families as a whole.
Family structural therapy and family systems therapy are the most well-known forms of family counseling. They emphasize that how a family sets expectations, gives comfort, copes with hardship, and defines its values significantly impact each person within the family.
To explore how these play out practically in a family’s daily life, family counseling may look at each family member’s personality type, love language, and/or birth order. The goal is to understand each individual better and how individuals relate to each other. Then, adjustments can be made to allow for more healthy connection and an improved family life.
Learning to relate in healthy ways can bring untold benefits to each individual member of the family, the family as a whole, and even the community where the family lives. Stronger families may experience the following benefits:
- Less cases of neglect, abuse, or problems with the law.
- Increased comfort and emotional connection within the family.
- Lower risk of poverty (as parents share income potential).
- Secure parent/child attachments that can benefit children into their adulthood relationships.
- Increased coping skills to handle hardship and stress.
- Less risk for depression and anxiety disorders.
Think for a moment about what your family is experiencing. Family counseling is not a magic formula or a quick fix for life’s toughest challenges. But when every family member wants to contribute, counseling may be the help your family has been waiting for.
Family Therapy at Thriveworks Alexandria, VA
Thriveworks Alexandria offers family counseling that can help families discover practical way to establish a more balanced home life. We know that growing closer as a family is challenging but possible. Our counselors also know that…
- The situation is the challenge—not the individuals or families who ask for help.
- Listening, connecting, and empathizing can go a long way in helping families.
- The family needs to give a voice to each member.
- Every challenge has a workable compromise.
Do you want to work through life’s difficulties as a family? Would you like to grow closer during hardship instead of farther apart? If so, Thriveworks is ready to help.
When you call to schedule family therapy, you may be able to see your counseling the following day. A person will answer your call and schedule your appointments. We offer convenient evening and weekend appointments. We also work with many insurance companies.
Finding a safe place to work through family challenges together is often worth the effort. Thriveworks Alexandria, VA is ready to help.
