Marriage and Family Therapy

Learn about marriage and family therapy ...

marriage family therapy

When an individual struggles, behaviorally, emotionally, or cognitively, all those in relationship with the individual - spouses, children, parents and even grandparents – are affected. In other family situations, partners and family members find it difficult to constructively interact, causing communication and relational problems.

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) have the training, experience, and passion to help individuals struggling with a large range of psychological issues, help their families cope, and help marriages and families struggling with tough inter-relationship issues.

And while the name “marriage and family” implies more traditional structures, MFTs counsel individuals in all forms of couple, partnership, and familial relationships.

Benefits of marriage and family therapy

The number of MFTs has grown exponentially as the therapeutic interventions employed by these professionals have proven beneficial.

According to the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), more than 50,000 MFTs now treat individuals, couples, and families nationwide. Of those treated by MFTs, roughly 90% report improvements in emotional health after treatment, and almost three-fourths report an improvement in their “couple” relationships. If a child’s problems bring the family to counseling, 73.7% of parents report improvements in their child’s behavior, and the ability of the child to get along with others significantly improves.

MFTs believe that the high positive correlation between their types of therapies and overall better functioning results from including every member of the family in the treatment plan. They find that when one individual in a family situation suffers from an addiction, illness, or handicap, the individual’s problem is significantly helped when all the members of a family, or partnership, are involved with the therapy.

Marriage and family therapists draw on the science of family systems. And most MFTs today focus their interventions on outcomes designed to solve problems, moving families or partnerships forward rather than spending long periods of time in therapy unraveling the causes or genesis of how or why the problem began.

According to the AAMFT, regardless of the therapist’s specific approach or orientation, the overall goals of all family and marriage interventions are to be:

  • brief
  • solution-focused
  • specific, with attainable therapeutic goals
  • designed with the “end in mind

MFT Issues Addressed

MFTs treat the whole range of psychological issues facing those in today’s world, including:

Approaches to Family and Marital Therapy

Whatever the source of the problem or issue, MFTs first try to get clients to recognize dysfunctional behavioral patterns, state the problem, and list the goals or desired outcomes for the therapy. Each family member participates in this process, giving each person an active role and giving him or her a stake in the outcome.

The exact method that MFTs use to approach specific disorders, illnesses, or patterns of dysfunction, and how they involve partners or family members depends on the therapeutic approach or intervention.

Some MFTs exclusively practice one particular approach, others are more eclectic and select a specific approach or technique depending on the needs and backgrounds of the clients.

Here are some of the more common approaches used today:

In most of these approaches, the therapist keeps the therapy brief, meaning that they spend only the amount of time in therapy needed to reach the desired outcome. The number of sessions that clients typically spend with MFTs averages about 12, and about 65.6% of clients complete therapy within 20 sessions, and 87.9% within 50 sessions, according to the AAMFT.

A case study: How a MFT might help with issues of chronic pain and illness

Over 50 million Americans live with chronic pain and illness, a number so large that it’s almost certain to affect the lives, either individually or through friendships, partnerships, or family relationships, of everyone - at some point in their lives.

And for those currently living with someone in chronic pain, they know firsthand the stress and strain on the chronically ill individual as well as on the other family members.

How can a MFT help a family that has a family member struggling with chronic pain?

The following exemplifies how a MFT might approach this therapy:

For the chronically ill client:

The MFT asks the client to list and record specific goals and activities. For example, keeping an exercise log, or recording time spent on certain activities, such as hobbies, cooking, etc. During therapy sessions, discussing these logs with the client, asking questions about what worked and what didn’t, and how the client intends to alter behaviors or better achieve the goals guides and supports the client into making appropriate, positive changes.

Here are some of the client’s goals:

  • Try not to focus on what you can’t do, but what you can do. You might not be able to sit at a sewing machine for 6-hour stretches, but instead work at one or two-hour intervals.
  • Break up your job tasks, errands, or home responsibilities so that you’re not grocery shopping, preparing the meals, and cleaning up all in the same day – or same afternoon. Manage your food preparation in the morning, for example, cleaning pots, pans and dishes, and then coming back to the cooking later in the afternoon. Delegate tasks to others.
  • Exercise and eat well. You might not be able to run a marathon, but a walk or easy bike ride will provide significant advantages over doing nothing.
  • Don’t stop attending social events or getting out to see friends. The interaction and engagement with others is important for self-fulfillment and feeling “connected.”
  • When you find yourself dwelling on the pain, find a distraction to take your mind off of it, such as a movie, book, or some type of positive imaging.

For family members of the chronically ill client:

Similar to the client, the MFT asks family members to record specific goals and activities for several days or a few weeks. During therapy, the discussion centers on how effective family members were at keeping their goals. Specific plans to change what didn’t work are recorded, and worked on until the next therapy session.

  • Don’t constantly talk about the family member’s pain. It has been shown that when people constantly talk about their pain, they actually feel worse than if they talk about something different.
  • Don’t do everything for the family member in pain. Many people in chronic pain can still do a great deal for themselves, which helps their self-esteem, and keeps them moving and active.
  • Encourage the family member to participate in social activities, joining him or her when appropriate.
  • Don’t change family activities or special occasions for fear that the family member might not feel well. Live life as normally as possible.
  • Exercise with the family member, motivating him or her in an activity that benefits you as well.

MFTs who work with issues of chronic pain realize that they’re not trying to “cure” the individual’s pain, but instead helping him or her – and the family – again start enjoying life to the fullest extent possible.

If you are interested in becoming a marriage and family therapist, request information from the schools offering degree programs in marriage and family therapy or related counseling degree programs.