What is Therapy?

For most of us, relationships are an important part of life. Common mental health symptoms and even some physical symptoms can be managed more easily when we have a better relationship with ourselves and with each other. If your spirituality is important, this can be a part of therapy as well. Also, we work with individuals and we work with couples and families. Clients define who is family and who they want as part of therapy.

In marriage and family therapy, the unit of treatment isn't just the person - even if only a single person is interviewed - it is the set of relationships in which the person is imbedded. Marriage and family therapists regularly practice short-term therapy; 12 sessions on average. About half of the treatment provided by marriage and family therapists is one-on-one with the other half divided between marital/couple and family therapy, or a combination of treatments.

Marriage and family therapy is:

brief
solution-focused
specific, with attainable therapeutic goals

Research indicates that marriage and family therapy is as effective, and in some cases more effective than standard and/or individual treatments for many mental health problems such as: adult schizophrenia, mood disorders, children's conduct disorders, anorexia in young adult women, chronic physical illness in adults and children, and marital distress and conflict.

Who are Marriage and Family Therapists?

Marriage and Family Therapists (MFTs) are mental health professionals trained in psychotherapy and family systems, and trained to diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders within the context of marriage, couples, and family systems. They evaluate and treat mental and emotional disorders, other health and behavioral problems, and address a wide array of relationship issues within the context of the family system.

Marriage and Family Therapists broaden the traditional emphasis on the individual to attend to the nature and role of individuals in primary relationship networks such as marriage and the family. MFTs take a holistic approach to health care; they are concerned with the overall, long-term well-being of individuals and their families.

The Federal government has designated marriage and family therapy as a core mental health profession along with psychiatry, psychology, social work, and psychiatric nursing. Marriage and family therapists treat a wide range of serious clinical problems including: depression, marital problems, anxiety, individual psychological problems, and child-parent problems.

Last Updated: 2/26/12