Family Systems

Family systems therapy is a therapeutic technique that thinks about the family as a single, emotional unit. Each action and family member affects the others. Family systems therapy focuses on families and couples in intimate relationships with a goal of nurturing change and development. It tends to view change in terms of the systems of interaction between family members. It emphasizes family relationships as an important factor in psychological health. A professional trained in this technique will work on understanding the relationships within a family, and create a family history that will be the foundation for how current behaviors are viewed. No individual can be understood in isolation from the others in the familial unit. Issues shared among family members, such as substance abuse, depression, eating disorders, anxiety, and schizophrenia are good candidates for a family systems approach. Think this approach might work for you? Reach out to one of TherapyDen’s family systems specialists today.

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Meet the specialists

 

My work focuses on building impactful relationships. Family Systems theory is a lens through which I view treatment. I have taught university graduate-level courses centered on the application of family systems theory. I received specialized training as a marriage and family therapist, received additional training in postgraduate school, presented at national conferences on family systems dynamics, and have over a decade of experience working with families in clinical settings.

— Kyle Barth, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Kaysville, UT

Taking a look at generational patterns that have been passed down. Understanding a client's family of origin is extremely helpful in understanding the client on a deeper level.

— Marcey Heschel, Licensed Professional Counselor in Cypress, TX
 

I am adept with working with in family and the complicated patterns of behavior that can exist between members. I am particularly adept at help adult parent/adult child estrangement - helping the parent understand why a child would choose estrangement, and working towards healing that relationship.

— Sean Hutchens, Licensed Professional Counselor in Lowell, AR

I enjoy helping clients process how they impact and are impacted by systems. Spanning ancestral, societal, interpersonal and intrapersonal contexts, we can discuss how you relate. I acknowledge that compassionate relationships to the whole comes with building capacity for accountability, boundaries and acknowledgement of power differentials.

— Maya Mineoi, Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor in St. Paul, MN
 

We all grew up with our family's influence. It's important to be able to discuss how this related to your current way of thinking and behaving

— Heather Tahler, Psychologist

I graduated with distinction from my Master's program in the study of family systems. Where traditional psychology looks inward towards the individual, family systems says the individual cannot be known until we know what systems they belong to. These systems start with the family, but also expand into community, state, country, and all manner of cultural systems. Exploring through a systems lens can often help an individual understand their identity in a stronger way.

— Timothy Rasmussen, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Intern in Seattle, WA
 

Family systems theory is the foundation of my education and training. For all clients, including individuals, I look for relational patterns that often inform the direction of therapy.

— Margaret  Certain, Marriage & Family Therapist in Seattle, WA

I use a style that focuses on the things and relationships in our lives that bring meaning. Here we look at what brings us joy and what brings us distress. This helps us see what we have used to create meaning and purpose in our lives.

— Cillian Green, Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor in Evanston, IL
 

Systems Theory is not necessarily about doing therapy with an entire family (who has time for that?). A look at your family system is like seeing the inner workings of a clock. We have much more information about how and why you are the cog shaped the way you are shaped, when we look at the functioning of the entire clock. What's magical is, by changing how you are shaped, or how you behave, you can't help but affect the shape (behavior) of all the cogs in your family, workplace or community!

— Kathryn Gates, Marriage & Family Therapist in Austin, TX

Family Systems therapy looks at how each individual is connected to their family, community, culture and spirituality. People are wonderfully complicated and how you end up as you is a combination of many things, relationships and events that have happened throughout your life. True healing can begin when all these parts of you are looked at and healed through love, compassion, understanding and setting healthy boundaries.

— Rachel Boyle, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist Intern in Henderson, NV
 

My deep understanding of the family systems approach is born from comprehensive training and rich experience. I've explored intricate family dynamics and the profound impact of communication patterns. I guide individuals in grasping how familial interactions mold their lives. My nurturing focus lies in fostering insights into these dynamics, empowering clients to cultivate improved relationships and communication.

— Saba Montazerian, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Newport Beach, CA

Everybody had or has some form of family, whether you born into it, choose it, or found yourself in a situation with others that essentially represented a family. I use the Systems approach to change the perception of who you are and why you do the things you do by looking at how you were shaped and influenced by the people in your lives as you developed. We were all set up to think and believe and act the ways that we do because of those around us as we developed.

— Gallio Marzano, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in , WA
 

I consider various systems that each person experiences in order to see the bigger picture. Each person is influenced by their family, community, school, location, etc. We are all affected by the world around us, and often our family systems are templates we use for other relationships.

— Coriann Papazian, Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist in Los Angeles, CA

I am also trained in Family Systems and use this approach to help clients deal with family issues/concerns by helping them understand their roles in their families and learn how these roles affect the way they treat each other and experience the outside world.

— Camille Matthews, Therapist in Colleyville, TX
 

The early years in which we are developing physically and emotionally are some of the most important years of our life. Because we usually spend this time with our families, family systems have a big effect on our future lives. Family systems work can happen with individual people processing their family of origin, with people in relationships with different family histories which are influencing their present actions, and with families who come to therapy together.

— Renya NeoNorton, Marriage & Family Therapist

I approach therapy and explore one's identities and relationships through a parts framework from family systems. In my studies and practicing clinical work, I facilitate and collaborate with the client throughout the process of connecting emotions, sensations, thoughts, and actions, which through exploration the client can find insight, understanding, or themes that pop up. What messages do internal voices, statements, and mirrors reflect on you, and where do they come from?

— Yasmin Jordan, Licensed Master of Social Work in New York, NY
 

Everybody had or has some form of family, whether you born into it, choose it, or found yourself in a situation with others that essentially represented a family. I use the Systems approach to change the perception of who you are and why you do the things you do by looking at how you were shaped and influenced by the people in your lives as you developed. We were all set up to think and believe and act the ways that we do because of those around us as we developed.

— Gallio Marzano, Associate Marriage & Family Therapist in , WA