Role Of A Family Counsellor!

Family Counselling or Family Therapy is a treatment designed to deal with specific issues affecting the dynamic and functioning of a family. It is used to help a family through difficult phases, major changes, emotional, behavioural or mental health problems amongst family members.

A family counsellor is a ‘neutral’ or an objective individual whose main role present in a family counselling session is to help undo the troubled relations of a family. They help members of the family to communicate effectively, to understand the other family member’s perspective and to bridge the gap or differences between the family members.

Objectives of a Family Counsellor

• Having a healthy discussion on issues troubling the family.
• Diagnosing the mental and/or emotional issues.
• Finding effective treatment strategies to alleviate the client/family’s problem.

How can a Family Counsellor help you?

• If a member of the family suffers from any severe mental illness like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, substance abuse disorder, etc. the family counsellor can help the other family members understand and psycho-educate and teach them ways to adjust to the psychological changes that their family member may be undergoing.
• The family counsellor can help with issues arising from generation-gap between child-parent, child-grandparent, child-step parent, child-guardian, etc.
• The family counsellor can help with issues arising from divorce families, blended families, nuclear families, joint families, etc.
• The family counsellor can also help with unmarried parents, live in relationships, LGBT couples raising a family, cross- culture or religious background families, etc.
• The family counsellor can also help with issues stemming outside the family like societal attitudes.
• The family counsellor can also deal with issues when a member is being the scapegoat, is struggling with feelings of outcast or is receiving very little support from other members of the family, etc.
• The family counsellor helps with developing empathy and understanding towards each member of the family.
• The family counsellor helps with addressing each and every issue contributing to the problem.
• Family counsellor helps in solving the effects of any pattern of problems.

More importantly, Family Counselling / Family Therapy aids in improving the family relationships by:

• Getting the family closer post, a crisis.
• Developing honesty between every family member.
• Developing trust between every family member.
• Developing a supportive and empathetic family environment.
• Reducing sources of tension and stress within the family.
• Helping family members get over painful past.
• Encouraging family members to forgive each other.
• Developing conflict resolution for issues in the family.