The Role of Family Therapy in Supporting Children’s Mental Health
Family therapy can be an invaluable recourse in the support of children’s mental health. Family therapy is a form of talk therapy that focuses on the improvement of interfamilial relationships and behaviors.
A strong family dynamic, full of people that care about each other, helps to build a foundation for a solid support system. Having this support system can help children and everyone in the family with life changes, aging, death and grief, and conflicts.
How Family Therapy can Support a Child’s Mental Health
Children in Arkansas, and all over the U.S., can be greatly affected by the environment around them. When a family dynamic is off balance, or is suffering from life changes, a child’s mental health can be affected. Family therapy can be a great tool that everyone can benefit from due to the issues that it can help fix.
These issues include:
- Strained relationships between family members
- Strong emotions or feelings such as stress, and anger
- Trauma
- The death of a loved one
- Divorce or changing family dynamics
- Sudden changes
- Navigating the changing mental or physical health of a family member
In family therapy, by using evidence-based treatments and lots of conversation and patience, a non-judgmental and safe environment is created. This allows for everyone to talk openly with the mental health professional, including the child or children. With the guidance of the mental health professional, the family will learn to incorporate healthy behaviors, communication, and interactions to overall improve the family dynamic and to help navigate tough life stages.
Children can greatly learn from this experience. It can help them build trust in their family members, and help them navigate difficult emotions that they may not understand yet, or have not experienced before. Children may be more willing to express themselves with their family, and to voice their thoughts and concerns. They may learn skills that will grow with them as they get older, which will help foster better mental health into adulthood, and possibly influence future family dynamics.
Everyone deserves the space to feel trust and understanding. If you feel that your family could benefit from family therapy, Chenal Family Therapy is here to help. Both in person and online therapy are available at a variety of locations here in Arkansas. Visit our services and online therapy pages to learn more about what options are available to you.
SPP is a subset of Chenal Family Therapy, PLC, ACEP Provider Number: 7233