Resolving Family Dilemmas: 4 Tips To Help Your Family Succeed At Therapy
No family is picture perfect—it's true. However, unresolved arguments can begin to take their toll on all members of the family. Regardless of the argument, it's important to get it sorted out quickly. After all, feelings of resentment or spite can really disrupt family love, togetherness, and activities.
If you just can't seem to see eye-to-eye with your family, don't fret. You can bring harmony back into your family by attending therapy. If you haven't been to therapy before, you might be feeling a little nervous—that's normal. Fortunately, you can make the experience much better for you and your family by following these four tips:
1. Be Open and Honest
During family therapy, it is important that you are open and honest with everyone involved. This includes the therapist, as well as your family members. Holding back your feelings can make progress slow and difficult. It can also make issues seem resolved, even when they aren't. So always be open and honest, regardless of how painful it might seem. Just make sure you aren't too blunt or harsh. Remember, you don't want to cause further issues; you just want to resolve the current issues at hand.
2. Everyone Needs To Attend
This might be hard, but you must get everyone involved in the family issue to attend. In addition, they need to attend every therapy session—not just one or two. This might be hard for many families, but be gentle and try to explain how family therapy will help. If they have a difficult schedule, try finding a therapist that offers flexible scheduling.
3. Don't Gang Up
Remember, therapy is supposed to be a safe place for everyone involved. So if the issue is with a single member of the family, make sure that everyone doesn't gang up on him or her. While you might have good intentions, singling a person out can make them feel uncomfortable. It can also make them potentially depressed or angry—and they could lash out. So be gentle and make sure that everyone isn't disrespectful or rude to a single family member, as this will only push the progress back further.
4. Let Everyone Talk
Finally, make sure that everyone gets a chance to talk during therapy. A single person dominating the conversation won't help the entire family heal and move on. So be brief and make sure everyone gets to talk during each appointment. If you have a larger family, you might want to consider scheduling accordingly. For example, you may need multiple appointments in a single week.
Family therapy is a great way to make your family more cohesive, loving, and understanding. If you are interested in attending a family therapy session, use these tips to ensure you get the most out of it. If you're looking for a family therapist, contact someone from a company like Teri Role-Warren.
