Family Therapy in Wake Forest, NC, Raleigh, NC & Fuquay Varina, NC
Do you dread being at home because your household feels like a constant war zone?
Is your teen acting out and you're not sure how to rebuild your parent/child relationship?
Does it just feel like several members of your family can't communicate anymore?
Relationships are hard. Family dynamics are complicated. And when everyone in your family has their own personality, a unique set of personal values, and wants to be independent? Well, life can get complicated sometimes.
Reasons Families Attend Family Therapy
Our skilled family therapists have received specialized training in family dynamics and family therapy. Therefore, we can help all types of families. In fact, most of our therapists are Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. This means their counseling education focused on helping entire systems such as a couple or family.
Your family therapist will meet you and your family where you are. We will get to know your family. Your therapist will look for patterns in how you communicate. You will share common conflicts and talk about the problem bringing you in. While we are helping create harmony between family members, we also recognize that you are an individual. So, each family member may view the same situation differently. In fact, different family members may have different ideas about why the family is seeking professional help to start with. This is ok. Your therapist will want to hear each family member's point of view.
Here are a few of the many reasons a family may come to counseling together:
- Some members of the family aren't talking to others
- One or more teenagers in the household are acting out
- You want to rebuild the parent/child relationship
- Everyone in the family is struggling
- The family is going through a major event that impacts everyone (moving out of town, a natural disaster, a family member is incarcerated, etc.)
- Two parents are divorcing but want to support the children together
- A child is having a problem that affects the whole family such as with school, substance abuse, or disordered eating
- An unexpected or traumatic loss of a family member
- Adjustment to a new family member in the home (i.e. birth of a sibling, step-parent, adoption, foster children, a grandparent entering the home)
Family Therapy can Help
The American Academy of Marriage and Family Therapists explains, "Research indicates that marriage and family therapy is as effective and in some cases more effective than standard and/or individual treatments for many mental health problems such as adult schizophrenia, affective (mood) disorders, adult alcoholism, and drug abuse, children's conduct disorders, adolescent drug abuse, anorexia in young adult women, childhood autism, chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital distress and conflict."
Families come together and begin their journey to reconnecting every day in our counseling office. As family therapists, we believe in the power of treating the entire family to improve the lives of everyone involved.
Our Approach to Family Therapy
Most of our therapists are Licensed Marriage and Family Therapists. This means that our therapists are mental health professionals who specialize in treating the entire family through counseling. The American Academy of Marriage and Family Therapists states, "Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and licensed to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples, and family systems." Basically, when you come to counseling at Foundations Family Therapy, you will be working with a family therapy expert. We use a systems theory approach to counseling. Every family member will have the chance to feel heard, supported, and find a way forward.
Not Every Session Involves the Whole Family
Part of the family therapy process may involve your therapist working with a smaller group. In fact, sometimes your family therapist may only meet with one family member. For instance, the family may involve two parents and two teenage children. However, if in one counseling session it becomes clear during the parents aren't on the same page about discipline, the family therapist may ask to meet with the two parents the next time. Or sometimes, the therapist may meet individually with a teenager a few times to better understand the teen's point of view and build trust.
These sessions with one or more members of the family can provide your therapist with valuable information. It can also help two individuals in a family work on repairing a relationship or improving communication. For example, if mom and teenage son really struggle with their communication, it may make sense for the therapist to meet with just those two members. The therapist can assist those two members in better communicating. As a result, whole family sessions down the road may be more productive.
The "No Secrets" Policy
As a general rule of thumb, in family therapy, we have a "no secrets" policy. In other words, when our therapists agree to treat a family, we consider that family (the treatment unit) to be the patient. For instance, if there is a request for your counseling records, Foundations Family Therapy will seek the authorization of everyone in your family who participated in family therapy.
Also, when the family therapist sees a smaller part of the treatment unit as described above, these sessions should be seen as a part of the work being done for the entire family. In these sessions, your therapist is focused on how to improve the functioning of the family as a whole. Therefore, there are times where information the therapist learned in an individual session will be helpful to later talk about in family sessions. At times, information learned in the course of an individual session may be relevant or even essential to the proper treatment of the family.
"No Secrets" and Teenagers
It's important to note that sometimes teenagers in particular need the ability to share "secrets" in individual sessions. It's important the teen be able to trust your family therapist. However, please know that your therapist will always notify parents if there is an issue of health or safety.
If you as a parent, your teen, or any member of your family has questions about when a therapist will disclose what has been shared, please ask during your first counseling session. This is a great topic to be discussed in counseling sessions as a family so everyone is on the same page from the start.
Christian Family Counseling
Foundations Family Therapy offers Christian Counseling services including family therapy. If you or your 
family are looking for a therapist who understands your values and the role faith plays in your family, please request a Christian counselor. Our therapists can help you frame the struggles within your family in the context of your belief system.
Furthermore, issues of faith and disbelief can be explored in counseling sessions. As an example, a therapist can help parents navigate responding to a teen's faith exploration. It can be stressful when one member of the family doesn't share the same beliefs. Faith differences can cause conflict in a family that our therapists are comfortable helping you communicate about these issues in a safe setting.
Family Therapy for Divorce
Are you and your spouse separated and going through a divorce but want to help your family navigate this change together? Perhaps you just aren't working as a couple, but you know you'll be co-parenting for years to come. Or you both see your children are really struggling with this change and want to set aside your own differences to provide a united front of support.
Sometimes, even families going through a divorce may come in together. When appropriate, our therapists can help everyone navigate this difficult transition. We can help parents work on their communication, particularly around co-parenting. At the same time, a family therapist can provide support to your children as they cope with all of the changes happening right now.
It's important to note that our therapists do not provide mediations or custody evaluations. We simply support the health of the family system during this stressful period of change.
Your Family Can Reach a Better Place
Are you and your family ready to start functioning as a unit again? Through family therapy, you can increase your sense of connection and begin to enjoy one another again. Our therapists work with your family to improve communication, resolve long-standing conflicts and teach conflict resolutions skills. Not only will you find ways forward around the sticky issues you are sick of rehashing but you'll feel ready to face future conflict together as well. Your therapist helps you clarify your values as a family and then apply those as you problem-solve major issues in your life.
You don't have to stay stuck in the same old patterns. It is possible to enjoy one another and feel like you can have a conversation together. Family therapy can help.
Begin Family Therapy in Wake Forest, NC, Raleigh, NC, or Fuquay Varina, NC
You do not have to struggle with feeling disconnected from your family. Our skilled family therapists can help families identify patterns that aren’t working and develop new ones that work better. We want to help you reconnect and feel supported, help you fight fair and parent more efficiently. We believe in the power of family therapy to help everyone feel supported. If you have questions or would like to start family therapy in Raleigh, NC, Fuquay Varina, NC area, or Wake Forest, NC please feel free to contact us or schedule an appointment. You can enjoy life with your children once again and move from surviving to thriving!
Other Services Offered at Our Wake Forest, Raleigh or Fuquay Varina Locations
We also offer many other forms of therapy and services at our Raleigh, Fuquay Varina, and Wake Forest offices. Foundations Family Therapy offers Christian counseling services, family counseling for teen and child therapy, child therapy, teen counseling, couple's and marriage counseling, premarital counseling, trauma therapy, therapy for chronic illness or medical diagnosis, depression therapy, anxiety therapy, as well as, other resources including blogs on various subjects relating to therapy. If you are still unsure whether counseling is for you, please feel free to contact us with the information below or refer to our frequently asked questions.