Major life transitions can be overwhelming and cause ripple effects within the relationship of your extended family. It may feel like everyone in your family has an opinion or something to say which can cause tension between relatives.
Divorce
Cross-country move
Retirement
Welcoming new children
New marriages
Death of a loved one
For many people, family therapy may feel like an intimidating last resort choice, but it doesn’t have to be. When done right, family therapy can be a fantastic choice for repairing or maintaining relationships with your loved ones. With new advances of teletherapy options for your family, therapy is a convenient and effective way for families to connect.
Five reasons to consider family therapy during a period of life transition:
Virtual therapy provides necessary flexibility
We know that one of the main barriers to beginning family therapy (other than raising the topic itself) is coordinating schedules. Our office offers virtual therapy in several states, providing convenient scheduling opportunities, and eliminating barriers between relatives who live far away. With virtual therapy you won’t have to deal with the additional stress of physically coming in as a family.
Fostering open and productive communication
When it comes to major life events, opinions can get heated. This may cause breakdowns in communication between family members. Therapy can help prevent the breakdown of relationships due to poor communication by offering safe and nonjudgmental spaces to speak. In a safe space that provides a degree of separation from the life event, and has a facilitator, family therapy offers relatives the chance to productively communicate with one another.
Strengthening relationships
In addition to communication, which is the basis of relational health, therapy can holistically help strengthen familial bonds. Relationships may be tested during life events such as divorce, conflict, and simply times of stress. Therapy offers a space to collectively process those emotions, working through them to move towards healthy relationships.
Conflict resolution
Just like any other kind of relationship, relatives are bound to experience conflict eventually. And, as such, it is helpful to know how to work through conflict. Family therapy can help relatives set healthy boundaries with one another, and when paired with an environment that encourages communication, it teaches families how to handle conflict well.
Providing support during traumatic situations
Major life transitions can span a wide range of events, but sometimes they may be traumatic. Maybe it is the loss of a loved one, a divorce, or something else. Therapy can help families process events that they collectively experienced, and the grief or any other emotions that may be associated with them. This can help strengthen family compassion, understanding, and overall relieve both personal and relational stress.
Lisa Rogers Counseling offers a convenient and confidential virtual therapy option for families with busy schedules or who are dispersed across state lines. Each member of the group must be a resident of a state that Lisa Rogers Counseling is licensed in (NY, NJ, TX, CA, FL, GA, IL and VT). Contact Lisa Rogers today.