...The REsource for Advancing Children's Health

Family Therapy

Family therapy is mainly used when a problem involves some form of family conflict. This form of therapy is often augmented with individual therapy. When family therapy is used, it is often understood at the outset that a child will blame the parents for the problems.

All families typically have an established, often implicit/unconscious, structure and set of roles for each individual. The therapist helps the family to understand these roles and patterns and how they contribute to the child's problem(s) and behavior. The theory underlying family therapy is that the child will not change unless the whole system fosters change and itself changes the behaviors/roles which are reinforcing the child's misbehavior.