Family and Systemic Therapy

What it is

Family therapy, also called systemic therapy, works with families, couples or other groups of people together, rather than treating one person in isolation. Its central idea is that difficulties often live within relationships and patterns of interaction, not solely within one individual, and that the people around someone are usually part of both the difficulty and the solution. Rather than finding fault, it helps everyone understand the patterns they are caught in and change them together.

This approach fits especially well in contexts where family and community are central to life, as they are across much of Africa, because it works with those bonds rather than treating the individual as separate from them.

Why it helps, and the evidence

Family and systemic therapy has particularly strong evidence for young people. Family-based treatment is the leading approach for adolescent anorexia, and family work has good evidence for young people's depression, behavioural difficulties and the impact of a family member's illness. It helps by improving understanding and communication, reducing conflict and blame, and mobilising the family's strengths to support the person who is struggling.

What to expect

Sessions usually involve several family members together with the therapist, who helps everyone feel heard and guides the family to notice and shift unhelpful patterns. The focus is on relationships and communication rather than on blaming any one person. In family-based treatment for eating disorders, for example, parents are actively supported to help their child recover. The number and shape of sessions vary with the situation.

Is it right for us

Family or couple therapy suits situations where difficulties are bound up with relationships, where a young person is struggling, or where a whole family is affected by one member's illness or by conflict. It requires the willingness of family members to take part. A professional can advise whether it fits. Our Get Support page can help you find services.

When to seek help

If a young person is struggling, if a family is caught in conflict or affected by a member's illness, or if a couple's relationship is in difficulty, family or couple therapy may help. Speak with a mental health professional about the options.