In family therapy and counseling, the family is considered to be a group of people who care about each other or depend on each other
and consider themselves as such. It may be a nuclear family of parents, step-parents and children but may also include grandparents,
step-children and half-siblings. In instances of adoption or other circumstances, a family may not be made up of blood relatives.
Family life can be a place of refuge and security but for some it is a source of pain and disappointment. Our families absorb many of
the stresses and strains from the outside world and the pressures can boil over. Sometimes a personal problem, particularly in
an adolescent, can overwhelm a family and there seems to be no clear way forward.
At other times changes within the family leave other members confused and angry or hurt. When a crisis or disappointment happens
for one member the family group absorbs the impact, sometimes helping and sometimes hindering. Sometimes the help comes at a high
price to one or more members.
In therapeutic terms, a family is a system and organization with rules and expectations that are unique and complex and usually
seen differently by each member. It is through examining what the explicit and hidden rules might be in each family and how they
are seen and interpreted by each member that the work might begin.
The family’s complex and unspoken rules can cause confusion and misunderstanding, particularly when there are changes.
When someone joins a family or when someone leaves or changes their position in it the structure is altered for other members.
Changes within the group members, from child to adult or from wage-earner to unemployed, are felt by the others in different ways.
The interconnected set of relationships and how difference and change might be managed is central to family counseling.
The logistics of getting all members along to participate in counseling poses difficulties, but it can be a satisfying
and rewarding means to establish new and healthier way of relating. Not all members attend every session; couples counseling or
individual counseling may follow and the family may meet later to discuss changes.
The relationships we have with our partners and our families can be enriching, fulfilling, and the source of deep comfort.
These same relationships also bring unhappiness, disillusionment, and anger. Because our relationships are so important,
they tend to affect the way we feel about every other part of our life, so that a relationship that is not going well can color everything else we do.
Couple and family counseling and psychotherapy gives you the opportunity to talk, to listen, and to be listened to, in safety and in confidence.
It can be a chance to express how you feel, say the unsayable, and be supported in taking these risks.
Counseling San Jose
Counseling San Jose and Psychotherapy
