There is a time and a place for marriage & family counseling
Marriages and families function more like a “system” or an “institution” than individuals do. Families are interconnected and interdependent. Two, or three or four, etc. people are as one whole. Subsequently in therapy, we treat marriages and families differently than individuals.
Marriage & family counseling is designed to address when your marriage or family has unresolvable conflict, is unable to make important decisions, has difficulty setting agreeable rules and boundaries, had a major crisis, death, betrayal or significant life event, and/or has difficulty functioning day to day.
Some examples of situations where it was helpful for us to provide marriage and family therapy are: 1) After the death of a close family member, 2) during a marital crisis: a serious medical condition in the family, 3) loss of job or unemployment, 4) an affair, 5) a significant mental health condition, 6) misuse of alcohol or drugs or any significant addiction, 7) caring for aging parents, and/or 8) unmanageable parenting situations.
How is marriage and family counseling different from individual therapy?
During individual counseling, the therapist has the individual’s mental health as the primary goal, while in contrast during marriage & family counseling, the therapist has the primary goal is the mental health of the marriage “system” or the family “system”. Instead of working towards the individual goals, the therapist’s role is to advocate for the marriage or the family. So for example, if an individual’s behaviors or mental health is blocking the success of the marriage or family’s goals, then the individual would be asked to address those issues separately with another therapist to become stronger and more productive for the marriage and family.
If you see your situation described above, the good news is there is practical help for you
“According to research done by the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapists, families and couples who have attended family or couples therapy sessions indicate high levels of patient satisfaction. Over 98 percent of those surveyed reported that they received good or excellent couples therapy, and over 97 percent of those surveyed said they got the help they needed. After working with a marriage or family therapist, 93 percent of patients said they had more effective tools for dealing with their problems.”
1 https://guidedoc.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-statistics-facts – Does Marriage Counseling Work? 8 Surprising Statistics & Facts, GuideDoc Health Inc.
When seeking therapy it is helpful to keep in mind that Research in Family Therapy Posted on April 16, 2011 by Richard Niolon Ph.D. cited a study:
“family and/or couples therapy is better than individual therapy for:
- schizophrenia
- depression in women in distressed marriages
- marital distress
- adult substance abuse
- adolescent conduct disorders and substance abuse
- anorexia in young females
- childhood autism
- aggression and noncompliance in ADHD children
- dementia
- and cardiovascular risk factors
and is better than no treatment for all of the above in addition to
- obesity
- hypertension
- child conduct disorder
- and chronic illness in childhood”2
What renew hope and healing has to offer
- We have convenient hours for those who need appointments after school, work or extra-curricular activities.
- We accept most insurances. See here for more information about payment/insurance. We will work with people who have a financial hardship.
- We have offices in Victor, Henrietta, Pittsford, and Penfield, NY. We also provide telehealth.
- Our licensed therapists have years of experience helping struggling families
NEXT STEPS
- If what you are dealing with is strictly a marriage issue, then you may want to go to the Couples Counseling page to get more information on treatment and options.
- Call us at 585-398-8835 for a consult or an appointment.
Renew Hope and Healing with locations in Victor, Henrietta, Pittsford and Penfield. Also servicing surrounding areas such as: Canandaigua, Farmington, Clifton Springs, Geneva, Shortsville, Macedon, Palmyra, Perinton, Fairport and Bloomfield.
REFERENCES:
1 https://guidedoc.com/does-marriage-counseling-work-statistics-facts – Does Marriage Counseling Work? 8 Surprising Statistics & Facts, GuideDoc Health Inc. © 2016, Sited October 5, 2016.
2 http://www.psychpage.com/family/library/family_research.html – Research in Family Therapy, Posted on April 16, 2011 by Richard Niolon Ph.D. on PsychPage. Sited October 6, 2016.