Family Therapy in 18347
Alla Leybinsky
Licensed Professional Counselor, LPC, LMHC , M Ed, CADC
Verified Verified
1 Endorsed
Pocono Lake, PA 18347
Living with depression is like living with thick fog that rolls into your life and affects everything meaningful in its path. It changes everything about you … how you think, feel and function in daily activities. It may have even started interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and enjoy life. The people close to you probably have noticed, but they don’t know how to help you, and you don’t know how to help yourself. Trying to get through the day is overwhelming and seems like an impossible task. Seeking help from a therapist can seem scary because you want to make sure you choose someone who you truly connect with.
Living with depression is like living with thick fog that rolls into your life and affects everything meaningful in its path. It changes everything about you … how you think, feel and function in daily activities. It may have even started interfering with your ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and enjoy life. The people close to you probably have noticed, but they don’t know how to help you, and you don’t know how to help yourself. Trying to get through the day is overwhelming and seems like an impossible task. Seeking help from a therapist can seem scary because you want to make sure you choose someone who you truly connect with.
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Family Therapy
What do family therapists do?
A family therapist facilitates the process of understanding and improving how a family functions. The therapist will help family members develop empathy for one another. They’ll seek to understand existing patterns, misunderstandings, and conflicts that arise, in order to help the family arrive at a realistic, unified understanding and develop the coping skills they need to build stronger relationships.
How long does therapy for families take to work?
Therapy manifests differently in every family; a common time frame is 12 weekly sessions, but some families may see improvement after just a few weeks. Families should discuss their goals with the therapist at the beginning of the process and periodically revisit those goals to assess their progress together.
How can you encourage a family member to attend family therapy?
You can encourage family members to attend therapy by expressing with both love and concern the challenges you see and explaining how a therapist could help the family navigate those challenges together. An outside perspective can help everyone feel heard, get on the same page, and develop new skills. If family members are still hesitant, it may be helpful to emphasize that family therapy is short-term—it won’t last forever.
Is therapy for families effective?
Family therapy can significantly improve family dynamics and relationships. Research suggests that family therapy can help individuals understand their role in the family, communicate and solve problems together, reduce conflict and draw boundaries when necessary, and develop coping skills for stressors, major life changes, and mental or physical illnesses within the family.