Family Therapy
Restore and strengthen your important relationships
Family Therapy in Geelong West
Shake off the old family dynamic and move forward with a fresh, new approach.
All families are different and so are the issues they face each day.
The purpose of family therapy is to support families to build stronger relationships, improve communication, and manage conflicts within the family system in order to create a better home environment for all family members.
The techniques used in family therapy focus on improving emotional awareness, assisting with major changes within a family, helping people accept things they cannot control, and improving communication and collaboration.
Other specific techniques used in family therapy may include learning to practice empath, emotional validation, reflective listening and cognitive reframing.
What Family Therapy Can Help With
Family therapy can support people with a range of different issues including:
- behavioural problems in children or teens
- changes within the family
- communication problems
- death of a loved one
- divorce, separation, or marital problems
- parent-child conflicts
- problems between siblings
- parenting issues
- stressful events or major life transitions, and
- trauma
Family therapy can also address many individual mental health conditions that may be impacting a family, such as anxiety/depression, chronic illness and addiction/substance abuse. Learn more.
What Are The Benefits of Family Therapy?
Communication
Family members can learn how to better communicate and share their thoughts and needs and resolve conflicts in a way that is less likely to damage relationships.
Support Towards Change
Family therapy can also provide support around the way family members deal with an individual family member’s particular issue. An example of this is, where a family member has a mental health or physical health condition, that impacts the family as a whole, family therapy can assist in altering some conditions that may be contributing to the problem.
Improved Awareness
Family members may lack awareness of how to support a loved one with a mental illness. Family members may unknowingly engage in behaviours that maintain or even worsen aspects of the illness. Therapy for the whole family will help everyone in the family unit to learn better ways to support their family member who has a mental disorder while also taking care of their own mental well-being.
What Should A Family Consider Before Entering Family Therapy?
Family therapy involves talking about issues and conflicts. This can mean that some members of the family may feel worse initially before they begin to see an improvement in their family situation. It is the therapists role to support family members to work through the issues as well as support them to handle any intense feelings that therapy may bring up.
How Long Does Family Therapy Take?
Family therapy is often short-term, but may take place for a year or longer, depending on the situation and needs of the family. While it frequently involves all family unit members, it may also focus on those who are willing or able to participate in treatment.
Family therapy in Geelong West
Our family therapist, Dean Barberoglou, supports families through a wide range of issues. He provides a safe and supportive environment where family members can work through the unique issues impacting their family unit.
Support for Geelong parents and families
Louise Brunt has extensive experience supporting adults and children with their family concerns, including relationship breakdown, family violence, coercive control, family law, parenting concerns, disability, child development concerns and infant mental health.
Please note: Louise offers support for individuals, as well as family related support for up to two people.
Call 0434 415 575 today
for a confidential discussion about how our therapists can assist you in your current situation.