A family therapist focuses on how family members relate to each other, and how individuals come to know themselves in the context of their family.
Family Therapy works with the system as a whole, working to come to an understanding of how individuals either work to maintain the homeostasis of the system, or work to disrupt the system when it doesn’t suit their individual needs. Essentially, families come to therapy when the system is unstable, and the therapist works to re-stabilize the family, creating safety and containment. We explore individual family member’s needs, and work together to make sure each individual member, and the family as a unit, has their emotional, relational and developmental needs met.
Nobody grows up in a vacuum, family members come to know themselves and the world through the lens of the family system. What is the “family system”? It helps to think of a family as a web of interconnected individuals. Family members are interconnected, working together as a unit to create safety and stability for each individual and for the family as a whole- what we call “homeostasis.” If we think of the family as an interconnected web, continuously working together to create stability, we can safely say that if one member of the family is somehow impacted by their environment, maybe at school, work, at home or in their interpersonal relationships, then the whole family is impacted. Families and individuals crave stability. If the family system becomes destabilized family members will do whatever it takes bring things back to normal.