Family therapy is a type of psychological counseling (psychotherapy) in which a trained therapist:
- Teaches family members about how families function in general and, in particular, how their own functions.
- Helps to identify conflicts and anxieties and helps the family develop strategies to resolve them.
- Strengthens all family members so they can work on their problems together.
- Teaches ways to handle conflicts and changes within the family differently. Sometimes the way family members handle problems makes them more likely to develop symptoms.
- Helps the family focus less on the member who has been identified as ill (if any) and focus more on the family as a whole.
- Improve communication within the family thereby deepening understanding.