What is Family Therapy?

Family therapy is a brief therapy approach to individuals, couples, and families that takes into account the many aspects of clients' lives. While dealing with the same range of problems as other mental health professions, family therapy focuses on the natural resources that people have but may not be aware of. That may mean working with an individual, a single parent and children, couples, all kinds of families (biological, gay, blended, and stepfamilies), and with people outside the family who may be helpful with finding solutions to a problem. You and your therapist will decide together who should be included.

The following video from the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) explains the unique approach and benefits MFT brings to therapy:

What is brief therapy?

Many therapies assume that problems have root causes and that these causes must be identified in order to correct the problem. Such assumptions often mean that a client must be in costly therapy for many months or even years. However, brief therapy approaches view problems as changeable in the here and now and thus seek solutions for the present and the future. As a result, brief therapy is brief, concise, and effective. Brief Therapy focuses on the possibilities for change by bringing out clients' strengths and inner resources. At FamilyWorks, therapy is solution oriented as therapist and client work together to develop and quickly bring about positive change and problem resolution. Most of our clients are able to turn their conundrums around in 5 to 12 sessions.