Family dysfunction is a widespread term to which many families can relate. As a therapist, I view this “dysfunction” as a family’s already attempted solutions to difficult situations emerging across the family lifespan.
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Oftentimes, families begin treatment once they recognize the way in which unhelpful behaviors have developed over the course of years or even been passed down through generations. Families also seek help to navigate a period of turmoil and distress or with a desire to strengthen healthier relationships among individual family members. Alternatively, some families enter therapy incidentally when one member of the family participates in individual therapy. During treatment, it becomes evident that the individual is affected by a series of interactions within the family system, and the family as a whole then becomes the client to address these dynamics.
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Using a family systems approach, I look at how family members get stuck in the roles ascribed to them by others in the family and the resulting impact on family dynamics. With a process focus, families can see how they are relating both to each other and to others outside the family system. My role as the therapist is to help interpret what this mode of expression reveals about their relationships so the family can adopt healthier patterns of relating to others within and outside of the family.