Counselling for Families in London

Counselling for Families / Systemic Therapy

Family dynamics have a pivotal role to play in the problems of individual family members and to collective family unhappiness and distress. Often it is not sufficient to just focus on the individual member of a family (e.g. the child or adolescent) who is overtly struggling with a particular emotion (anxiety, depression) or behavioural problem (bed wetting, child refusing to go to school). Instead of seeing the individual’s symptoms as an expression of an internal conflict it can be more useful to see it as serving a function in balancing or unbalancing relationships within the family. For example, a child’s anxiety may be drawing a couple’s focus away from the problems within their intimate relationship and allow them to find common ground (balancing). An adolescent’s truancy may pull his mother’s attention away from her new partner and towards him and his father (unbalancing).

Who Can Family/Systemic Therapy Help?

Are members of your family unit feeling unsettled following a period of transition e.g. a birth, death, illness, divorce or relocation? Is a member of your family struggling with a specific emotional or behavioural problem? Has there been a breakdown in communication within your family e.g. between you and your child as they have entered puberty? Is your family struggling to cope with external pressures (e.g. financial, outside commitments and stress)?

A Recent Testimonial

“I went to The British CBT & Counselling Service in Nottingham to get help for my daughter who was struggling with anxiety. The psychologist we saw was fantastic and quickly gained my daughter’s confidence and taught her strategies to manage her worries. We also did some work as a family and with the school which helped me to continue supporting my daughter after the treatment was finished. All very helpful. Thank you”.
Anna - Nottingham

How Does Family/Systemic Therapy Work?

Step 1

One of our Therapists will start by meeting with your family initially all together, and then if you are comfortable to do so individually. During this time, they will ask a number of questions to enable them to understand the problems that you are struggling with and the best approach to help you.

Step 2

Once your Therapist has identified with you the main problems and your goals for the counselling, they will work with you to resolve the difficulties. If the difficulties have arisen following a period of transition (e.g. a birth, death, illness, divorce or relocation) your Therapist with help you to rebalance your family dynamics by supporting you to adjust to the altered roles, responsibilities and expectations and to modify future plans.

Step 3

If an individual member of your family is struggling with a specific symptom, your Therapist will include the whole family in the counselling process with the aim of accelerating the resolution of the individual’s symptoms, protecting against future relapses and improving the overall welfare of the family.

Step 4

If your family issue is a breakdown in communication your Therapist will help you to evolve your communication styles and make them more relevant for your family as it is now.

Step 5

If your family is struggling to withstand an external pressure (financial, outside commitments and stress) your Therapist will help you to stand back from these pressures, regroup and create a united front in order to tolerate and manage the challenges being imposed.