The Ten Best Things
Family Counseling Does
in Providing Effective Help

Each family is unique, and each has its own range of difficulties encountered either as a unit or individually by the members. The range covers childhood and adult issues, from small adjustment issues to larger issues such as conduct disorders, couple difficulties, and substance abuse. In a family, members will react to other members’ problems in their own ways, but the entire unit is affected. If there are misunderstandings, communication breaks down and further problems may arise.

It is often beneficial to seek family counseling when one member’s problem affects the entire family. In family counseling, the treatment approach is based on the framework that all things are interconnected in the family unit. Instead of addressing the individual member’s problem alone, family counseling involves all members in therapy, making it possible to come up with a solution to improve family functioning, thus resulting in the individual’s symptoms to dissipate.

Evidence shows that counseling benefits a family in the following ways:

  1. Improves communication skills. Many families have difficulty communicating with each other, resulting in disconnection between members. Because communication can bridge gaps or rifts, it is important for families to re-establish and improve this aspect of their lives to foster a healthy relationship. In family counseling, family members learn to utilize the basics of open and honest communication. Counseling will serve to “break the ice” for positive dialogue without creating conflicts.
  1. Promotes greater acceptance of a member’s condition. Studies show that the illness or disability of a member affects the family as a whole, and the severity of the condition is hugely affected by how the family relates to the sick member. When negativity permeates the family environment, there is more likelihood of relapse and disruption. Rather than dwell on the concern and make it a source of unhappiness in your home, seek resolution through family counseling. Family counseling provides strategies for positive reactions that contribute to improving all members’ psychological and physical health.
  1. Reduces family tension and stress. Challenging life events can divide a family. Counseling can make your family more resilient. Whether it’s a life-changing event, such as divorce and relocation, or an emotional or behavioral issue that affects the family in many ways, counseling addresses the cause of disruption and helps members manage future crises together.
  1. Brings family members closer to each other. Conflicts between members can threaten the stability of the family, or even shatter it. Counseling provides members a forum to verbalize their feelings while the counselor acts as a nonpartisan third party to process them. This often results in stronger family bonds as members learn to better understand each other’s thoughts, feelings, and behavior and discover ways to be more positive when the family faces challenges.
  1. Enhances children’s self-esteem. Family counseling provides tools and strategies to boost self-esteem as part of parenting skills. This is an opportunity for parents to recognize the individual needs of their children and to function as authoritative role models, supporting their children’s success in their niche in the community and other settings.
  1. Helps simplify problems. Family problems usually start out small, then snowball into something bigger when members fail to resolve them early. When the crux of a problem is not addressed, it produces larger issues, misunderstanding, and conflict. Family counseling helps reveal the real issues in their simplest form for easy resolution.
  1. Helps confront serious issues like divorce. A counselor can help identify the causes of misunderstandings and conflicts that eventually lead to major decisions that impact the whole family, such as a couple choosing divorce. In many cases, counseling can help save the marriage and even make it stronger. Should the couple still decide to pursue divorce, family counseling can help all the members accept the circumstances and prepare to adjust to a new setup in a healthy way.
  1. Strengthens weaknesses. Family counseling helps in setting goals and guides members in accomplishing them. The scientific and pragmatic approach of family counseling is designed to increase potential and strengthen weaknesses to enable the family to reach its goals. A family anchored on a strong foundation has the ability to stay resilient despite the odds.
  1. Overcomes major transitions. Significant life events, such as the death of a loved one, can have a lasting, painful effect on a family. Rather than facing the challenge separately, the family can overcome it as a unit, deriving strength from one another. In counseling, members are provided with strategies to move through the stages of loss or transition and go forward with an intact relationship.
  1. Creates a happier family. Family counseling is helpful during stressful times when the family confronts issues that make members blind to each other’s needs and feelings. The therapist sets the tone for each member to face the problem without jeopardizing the welfare of the others. This promotes the formation of a happy family with members who are respectful and considerate of each other.

Strengthening Your Family with Counseling

Although a lot has changed in how society and culture influence the family, everyone is raised in some sort of family unit. These days, when families are beleaguered by so many challenges, family counseling can be fruitful.

If your family has issues to resolve, do not feel alone. There’s no such thing as a perfect family, and it’s normal for problems to arise. Help is available from Carolina Counseling Services – Pittsboro, NC, where our independently contracted counselors await you with effective treatment plans for your family’s needs. Just call and request an appointment to get into counseling and make your family stronger.

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