What is family and systemic therapy?

In family therapy, you talk about an emotional difficulty with a trained therapist. This type of talking therapy can involve more than 1 person, with ‘family’ meaning any group of people who define themselves in this way and have significant relationships with each other. You will look at how people influence each other, care for one another and make sense of challenges together.

Family therapists understand that relationships don’t exist in isolation but that they’re shaped by family histories, communication patterns and the roles we learn over time. This is why they offer therapy for romantic couples, adult family pairs, groups such as a mother or father with their adult child, 2 or more adult siblings or any relatives who want to strengthen their relationship.

Overall, family therapy is for:

• Individuals
• Couples
• Colleagues at organisations
• Families
• Groups
• Carers

How does family therapy help?

Family therapy offers a safe and respectful space where family members can talk, listen and reflect – sometimes in new ways – with the support of a trained therapist.

It can support you and a family member to work together on long‑standing patterns, repairing ruptures or building a healthier connection.

A family and systemic psychotherapist helps you build better relationships and explore how the ‘systems’ around you influence your mental health.

Everyone is part of a series of wider networks or ‘systems’, such as your family, workplace and community. Our interactions within these systems influence how they function.

Exploring patterns in systems and relationships, including communication, can help people who take part in family therapy. It can support them to challenge their relationship with a range of issues, including eating disorders, domestic abuse, divorce, obsessive-compulsive disorder, conflict and parenting.

What will I learn in family therapy?

You can learn to:

• Understand and change patterns of behaviour, communication and relating
• Address conflict
• Share thoughts and feelings that may be hard to talk about
• Understand each other’s experiences, perspectives and needs
• Develop new ways to communicate
• Strengthen connections by recognising and building on what already works well in the ‘family’
• Support one another more

The aim is not to blame but to support families to work together in ways that feel safer, kinder and more hopeful.

How does a family therapy session work?

A session usually lasts between 50 and 90 minutes, depending on who is involved. Those with children, for example, might be shorter and include play and drawing.

Typically, there are 6 to 8 sessions over a 6month period, either face to face, online or on the phone. But the number of sessions depends on whether you have therapy through the NHS or privately. If you can access family therapy on the NHS, you’re likely to be offered around 6 sessions but it varies.

The format of sessions varies. Some groups might want to talk together from the start. Others may prefer to have individual time with their therapist. They may use this time to decide if they want to share their thoughts and feelings with others, what they want to say and how to do this. They can also discuss who else may need to be part of the process.

Some family therapists work on their own, while others are in teams with colleagues known as ‘Reflecting Teams’. For example, a colleague may observe the session and share their thoughts and reflections with you and your family therapist part way through a session. This helps you to hear multiple perspectives and ideas. This team approach can be really helpful for complex difficulties.

What training has a family therapist had?

Fully qualified family therapists may also be called ‘family and systemic psychotherapists’. This title is for professionals who have completed a masters qualification on a course that meets the highest professional standards. Here at the Association for Family and Systemic Psychotherapy, we accredit over 100 systemic psychotherapy courses in the UK. Find out more about how we accredit courses.

Family therapists are also registered with the UK Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) and must provide evidence of high standards of practice and continuous professional learning.