It’s inevitable that every family is going to have their own sets of issues; dysfunctional families seem to be more and more prevalent in our society. Family fights and disagreements are bound to happen, and often, people can feel ashamed of them. There is no shame in talking to a professional if you feel that you or your family is having an issue. Let’s look at some common reasons why someone would seek family counseling.
Blended Families
Blended families consist of married couples that have children from their previous relationships. Counseling can help a blended family who is dealing with differences that they face as they come together to form a new family unit. These can range from changes in holiday traditions to implementing (or changing) roles in the household, like instituting responsibilities for chores. While a blended family may always have their differences, counseling can help the family navigate this new arrangement and encourage conversation and compromise.
Financial Issues
Finances are a large reason for the strain on relationships and are a leading cause of divorce. Some couples choose not to talk about their financial issues, and others may disagree on what their money is being spent on.
You may feel like paying for family counseling is counterproductive, but there are many low-cost and free ways to get counseling. Some insurance plans provide for family counseling. If you don’t have insurance coverage, you may be able to get counseling pro bono or on a sliding scale, paying what you can afford based on your income.
The lessons you get from counseling may be able to help you manage your finances quite a bit. You may be able to get advice that can change how you save and spend, and approach money as a family unit.
Better Understanding Between Parents and Children
Raising a child can be difficult, especially when they’re an older child or a teenager. They become more independent and explore hobbies, beliefs, and feelings that may differ from their parents’ interests and understanding. This can lead to fighting. A parent may feel like their child is ungrateful and doesn’t realize how or why they’ve changed. A child may feel like their parents just aren’t able to understand them and won’t accept them for who they are.
A counselor can help bridge this generation gap by being a neutral party and can help to unite the family by facilitating productive conversation and encouraging understanding on both sides.
Reconnecting Relationships
Say you have a parent or sibling who you’ve become distant with. In adulthood, you don’t see them often, and the last time you did over a holiday obligation, you had a fight. Distance (both literal and emotional) and conflict can make erode a connection. Other times, connections just wane with time. A grudge can be hard to let go and move on from. Even if your family member has apologized and attempted to make it right, you may feel like holding onto that grudge because the gesture is too little and too late. A family counselor could help you rekindle your family bonds by working through past conflicts and helping people come to forgiveness and help plan future times together to build new memories as a family.
They can speak to you one-on-one, in smaller subgroups, or all together as one family, depending on what you’re comfortable with.
Addiction
Many families have a member who struggles with addiction but aren’t sure how to provide them with the appropriate help due to cultural stigma, inability to recognize the need for help, or perhaps even unwittingly enable the behavior. Family counseling can help unite the family in providing the right help for a struggling family member with an addiction, or help the family member with the addiction realize that they need to get the right help for themselves so that they can help their family who has been unable to support their recovery.
There is No Shame in Seeking Family Counseling
Some people may feel a stigma for seeing a counselor for themselves and are less inclined to see one for their entire family unit. However, family is important. While there is a time and place to let go of toxic family members, sometimes family issues can be addressed and bonds restored, and a family counselor can help guide you all through this process. It’s worth it to try if you need help.
This is a featured post by site sponsor Better Help.
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