Family Therapy
Individualised therapy approaches typically focus on the internal experience and external impacts of individual’s seeking therapeutic support. They examine the interaction of an individual’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. Family therapy builds on this approach, focusing on the internal experiences of the members that make up a family system. The therapy process extends to examine how this translates to transactional patterns occurring among family members, as well as alliances and boundaries that shape interpersonal experiences.
1. What You Can Expect
Our family therapy service involves scheduling an initial series of assessment sessions to engage with family members, sometimes together and sometimes not. The aim of the assessment is to gather information on the full range of family member perspectives concerning family interactions and experiences. Our family therapy service is designed to help families clearly communicate and navigate situational and relationship challenges, focusing on improving communication, understanding, and support across the family system.
2. Therapeutic Approaches
There are several established modalities for providing family therapy that may be drawn upon by your family therapist. This includes transactional analysis, examining how adult interactions, adult-child interactions, and child interactions that co-exist within a family system play out. It also may include experiential processing that, during family therapy sessions, can help catalyst a family’s natural drive toward growth and improved interactions.
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Therapy will seek to increase understanding among family members regarding how the family system functions, the diversity of experiences at play, and where strengthens exist within the family system that can support and facilitate change. After assessing the function of a family system, the family therapist will aim to set goals with family members, undertaking psychoeducation activities on observed transactional patterns to increase understanding, and identifying opportunities to alter transactional patterns to improve family functioning.
3. Presenting Problems
Our therapists have experience working with families dealing with a range of issues, including:
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marital difficulties
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family life stage transition/adjustment difficulties
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adjustment to new and established blended family dynamics
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parenting and step-parenting difficulties
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living in a family navigating the experience of disability, mental or chronic health conditions
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family conflict
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family estrangement
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grief and loss
4. What Else You Need to Know
Family therapy sessions will typically last 50 minutes, conducted as face-to-face appointments in our Therapy Centre in Caringbah. Arrangements for undertaking family therapy using a videoconference appointment schedule will be considered when needed. You will be provided details to assist your family attend your appointment once you have made your booking.
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If attending your scheduled appointment at the Therapy Centre, you and your family can seat yourself in the waiting area and wait for your therapist to come and greet you.
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The initial session will include introductions, the therapist outlining what family members can expect in participating in therapy, and how to make the most of participation. The therapist will likely see the complete family together and/or combinations of family members for periods within the allocated 50-minute appointment timeslot. The therapist may inquire about the broader life experiences of family members that are not limited to only asking about the presenting concern.
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Some areas of inquiry may include addressing sensitive topics and the family therapist will be gentle in speaking with family members about this. At the end of the initial session, the family therapist will provide feedback about the presenting concerns and options for working towards addressing those concerns. This may include the therapist offering to work with the family and combinations of specific family members, providing indication as to the number and frequency of therapy sessions that may be required.
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Eligibility for access to Medicare and private health insurance rebates will be considered on a case-by-case basis, noting these insurance programs are focused on the treatment of mental health difficulties. Please ask about this when making a service inquiry.
Individual Therapy
We offer individual psychotherapy to help our clients manage a range of mental health concerns including depression, anxiety, and relationship problems. Our therapists are trained to provide non-drug therapies, strategies, and techniques to promote positive psychological function and growth.​​
Couples Therapy
Our couples therapy services are designed to help couples overcome relationship challenges and improve communication, intimacy, and trust. Our therapists have experience working with a range of problems couples may face, including infidelity, financial stress, and parenting difficulties.
Child Therapy
Our child therapy services are designed to help children navigate challenges and improve communication and understanding while offering emotional support. Our therapists have experience working with children dealing with a range of issues, including behavioural difficulties, sibling conflict, and grief and loss.