A Friend Is Not a Family Therapist
What Is Family Therapy?
Family therapy is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on the family unit and how of that unit relate to one another and communicate. It involves more than one client. A family therapist is trained to work with families and help them form a healthy dynamic so that they can function well. You might want to talk to your friend about your family, and you might believe that because they're an empathetic person, they'll be able to help you understand the complex dynamics of your family, but as caring and nurturing as your friend is, they aren't a family therapist. A family therapist knows how to mediate problems between of the family and help them resolve a conflict.
What Is A Family Therapist Trained To Do?
A family therapist is trained to understand the complexities that families go through and help them mediate conflicts. A family therapist knows how to address marital issues for any client. If you're talking to your friend about issues in your marriage, they will understand, and they'll try to be empathetic, but they won't get how complex and intricate the problems in your marriage are or how to help you solve them because they aren't trained in marriage and family counseling. A family therapist may be a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, or an LMFT, who knows how to mediate between couples, and it's not reasonable to expect your friend to be your couples counselor because it's not appropriate and they're not trained to do that.
What Is The Goal Of Family Therapy?
The goal of family therapy is to strengthen the bonds between the of a family unit, and it aims to help families overcome conflict and improve communication. Family therapy opens a dialogue that the family therapist begins and the family continue as a client. It's a safe place for of a family to voice their concerns so that they feel heard. The family therapist can help each of the family unit understand the different personalities that exist within it and resolve the conflict that might exist between them.
What Are The Benefits Of Family Therapy?
Unlike individual therapy, family therapy focuses on every of the same family that is present. A family therapist has to be unbiased and mediate a conflict between everyone who's present during a session. It's beneficial because you're not talking about the issues that you have with your family in a vacuum. Instead, you're able to address it then and there over the course of several sessions. A family therapist can explain a family point of view to you and vice versa. In individual therapy, you can talk about an issue within your family, but you might not remember everything your therapist tells you once you leave a session. Your friends aren't able to mediate a conflict between your entire family because that's not what they're there to do and they're not trained in that way.
What To Expect In Family Therapy
Expect that all of your family will hear your voice. Your family therapist wants to create an unbiased environment in which everyone gets to say what they think and feel. It's not about you, and it's not about any other sole individual in your family. It's about coming to a compromise, and families need to work together to function. This factor is essential to the well-being of your family relationship. If they don't, it becomes a dysfunctional dynamic. If your family isn't functioning well, a family therapist can help you understand problems that arise and work to solve them. Every person in the family is the client, and each client will get time to speak about their thoughts and feelings and goals for the overall family relationship.
Online Counseling
Online counseling is an excellent place to receive family therapy as a client. You and the of your family can candidly speak with an online therapist and talk about what's working and what isn't, and you can decide what to do next. Don't be scared if you have a conflict with a family - or be scared, but understand that a family therapist wants to help you. Rather than talking to your friends about your complex family issues, speak to an LMFT. Search the network of online therapists at BetterHelp and find the right fit for you who can help you resolve these conflicts.
Questions People Often Ask On This Topic:
Can a therapist treat of the same family?
Can a therapist treat someone they know?
Can a therapist treat 2 family?
Can your therapist be a family friend?
Should a therapist treat family?
Can a therapist treat a couple individually?
What you should never tell your therapist?
Can my therapist be my friend?
Are therapists allowed to tell parents?
Can a psychologist diagnose family?
FAQ
Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about marriage and family therapists, the therapeutic effectiveness of family therapy, and other related topics.
Can A Therapist Treat A Family?
Therapists should not treat family from their own families. They should also not treat close friends. Unfortunately, it is a conflict of interest for a psychologist to treat their own family or someone they know. Part of entering the profession is understanding that treating clients must be done without bias and in a professional psychotherapy environment. Counselors cannot remain impartial if their client is someone with whom they are close or have emotional ties. It can cause many negative effects on psychologists if they treat clients that they know.
Can Your Therapist Be A Family Friend?
You can have a therapeutic relationship with a therapist who is a family friend or distant friend. However, this relationship should not get in the way of the process of psychotherapy and should not break any ethical standards. The therapist needs to be able to remain objective and should only your information with informed consent. If your therapist has a relationship with one of your family, they may end up doing harm by breaking confidentiality rules and the patient’s info with someone else. It may be best for them to refer you to another provider.
Can A Therapist Treat A Couple Individually?
Yes, family therapists can treat individuals from a couple in one-on-one sessions on top of regular couples therapy. Individual therapy with each person in the relationship can help the therapist gain insight into their two clients and how to better help them in their relationship. Although the therapist can not break confidentiality, they may be able to use an example or suggest certain treatments after hearing about a struggle that one patient has in the relationship.
Treating multiple patients individually and together is something that many therapists do when they have multiple in the family group or couple. For example, some clinical psychologists will meet with a family group made up of parents and one child. They may speak to the parents alone and then speak to their children afterward to get a good idea of how to treat the issues at hand without breaking confidentiality for any patient.
Can My Therapist Be My Friend?
For a counselor to effectively treat anything you’re going through, there should not be a dual relationship in the therapeutic setting. This means that multiple relationships with your psychologist is generally frowned upon and can even be an ethical problem. A clinical psychologist has vowed to ethically hold to the standards of the American Association of Psychology and should not be making friends with their patient. Although it may not seem that a friendship with a client could cause harm, it creates a power imbalance in the relationship that can be non-conducive to treatment.
Remember, formal psychotherapy is just like visiting a doctor for your mind. Your counselor or psychologist has committed to treating the issue that you’ve come in for. They’ve been paid to treat you as a client and even if they like you as a person, the relationship should always stay platonic and professional.
Can A Psychologist Diagnose Family?
No, a clinical psychologist cannot diagnose one or multiple of their own family, even in private practice. Of course, the clinical psychologist can refer their client to another psychiatrist or clinical psychologist in the area who can offer treatment without an ethical issue. The patient should have no emotional or familial ties to the provider who offers psychotherapy for them.
Can A Therapist Treat Two Family?
A clinical psychologist cannot treat any of their own family. However, they can treat two people from the same family. For example, many families will seek treatment for relationship concerns with others in their same family. As long as the patient is not related to the therapist or does not present a conflict of interest, the client can be any person or any number of people. This does not pose a threat to the nature of the therapeutic relationship.