Family Therapy
About This Service
Family therapy focuses on the family as a unit and the relationship the members of the family have with one another. When it comes to family therapy, the client is the family. During family therapy, the therapist assists the family in identifying and addressing family relationship issues. The goal is for the family to improve their ability to healthily relate with one another and to build the family relationships and family life they want to build with one another.
Family therapy is often sought by a family when there is a decrease in family relationship satisfaction, one or all members of a family find it difficult to meet family relationship expectations and wants, and/or a recent stressor has significantly impacted the family’s life. Families who attend and participate in family therapy often focus on improving their:
* Understanding of their family relationship, including how and why they think, feel, and act the way
they do as family members
* Knowledge of their family relationship issues, including the ways in which perception, habits, and
expectations affect each family member’s ability to relate with one another
* Awareness of the impact of any stressors they are experiencing as individuals and as family
members, including how such stressors impact themselves and the members of their family
In order to do this, families frequently:
* Identify and replace unhealthy thoughts and thinking patterns with healthy thoughts and thinking
patterns that can improve and sustain their family relationship
* Learn more about the role of feelings in decision-making and harness the power of feeling to
improve their lives as a family
* Make better choices so they can improve the quality of their family relationship and increase their
ability to live harmoniously with one another
Scheduling and Payments
Optimum Living Psychology, PLLC accepts both self-pay and insurance benefits. OLP, PLLC is contracted with most major insurance carriers. Scheduling an appointment is easy.
SELF-PAY: To schedule an appointment, self-pay families should call the office and be prepared to provide all family members’:
* Full names
* Dates of birth (DOBs)
* Address (or addresses if the members of the family live separately)
* Phone numbers
* Email addresses (if they would like the New Family Client Packet to be emailed to them)
* Reason they are seeking services, summarized in a word or two, such as communication
difficulties or difficulty balancing individual and family needs
INSURANCE: Most major insurance companies do not provide benefits for family counseling in the way the American Psychological Association (APA) dictates family therapy should be conducted. The APA states, when family therapy services are provided, the family is the client, not a single individual within the family. Since insurance carriers sell policies to individuals and process bills for services rendered under an individual's name, there is often no way for a family therapy session to be processed with the family as a client.
However, as insurance carriers are always adding new policies and benefits as well as periodically making changes to existing policies, Dr. Powers is willing to verify your insurance to see if your policy has a provision where family therapy can be billed with the family as the client.
If you are interested in having your insurance verified, please call the office with your insurance card in hand and provide the following:
* Full names, dates of birth, address(es), phone numbers, emails, and brief reason for seeking
services for you and all members of your family
* Insurance carrier's name (such as Medicare, FL Blue, United Healthcare, Cigna, etc.)
* Plan name
* Primary insured's name (the name of the person who has the policy) and DOB
* Member number
* Group number
* Provider phone number (often listed as Provider number or Behavioral Health number)
If you would like all family members’ insurances to be verified, please provide all information related to each of your family members’ insurance policies as well: insurance carrier's name, plan name, primary insured's name, member number, group number, and provider phone number.
The First Appointment
The first appointment, also known as the initial session or intake, is an evaluation. It involves all members of the family and the provider discussing the reason the family is seeking treatment, the family’s current relationship difficulties, and the goals the family has for treatment. The goal is to define the nature of the family’s relationship difficulties as well as provide the family with a general overview of the recommended treatment.
The first appointment starts with a review of the completed New Family Client Packet to make sure all forms have been appropriately filled out. If one or all members of the family have any questions about the forms, the provider will answer these questions at this time. Once the initial paperwork is reviewed, the provider will ask each member of the family to identify in a sentence or two the reason they are seeking treatment as a family. From there, the information provided in the paperwork will be reviewed and additional questions will be asked. At the end of the appointment, the provider will confirm with the family the major issues they would like to address in treatment as well as discuss the recommended treatment.
Prior to scheduling a follow-up appointment, the family and the provider will discuss the fit of the professional relationship. Many factors go into determining if the relationship is a good fit. Some factors are:
* Location of the office and accessibility for the family
* Theoretical orientation and treatment approach
* Provider’s experience with the relationship issue(s) at hand and current scope of practice
* Family preference
If all members of the family and the provider determine a good fit exists, then the next step is to schedule a follow-up session.
Follow-Up Sessions
Follow-up sessions are the appointments that come after the initial evaluation or intake. The number of follow-up sessions is determined by the type and scope of the family’s relationship issues and progress made. Treatment can be:
* Brief (four to eight sessions)
* Short-Term (three to six months in length)
* Long-Term (lasting six months or longer)
The length of a family session can also vary. The most common family session length is seventy-five to ninety minutes. A seventy-five to ninety-minute session allows time to:
* Review previously assigned homework
* Identify the issue(s) or set of concerns the family would like to work on
* Discuss therapeutic approaches to identified issues and concerns
* Create and agree upon a new homework assignment
* Identify the takeaway lessons of each member of the family from the session
* Discuss the positive strides made by all members of the family inside and outside of the
session
FAQ - How Do We Get the Most Out of Family Therapy?
The number one most commonly asked question after a family enters therapy is: How do we get the most out of therapy? It's a good question.
While therapy is a collaborative process, the outcome of therapy is largely determined by how much time and effort all members of the family put into improving their relationship. This is because most of life is lived outside of the therapy office.
While this may seem like a tall order at the start, rest assured, if you follow The Top Ten Strategies for Getting the Most Out of Family Therapy, you and each member of your family will be well on your way to making the family relationship improvements you wish to make.
The Top Ten Strategies for Getting the Most Out of Family Therapy
1. Schedule and attend sessions regularly
2. Arrive on time to sessions
3. Be present during therapy by focusing on the topics at hand
4. Be open and honest when talking with your therapist and your family members
5. Be clear about what’s most important for all of you to work on at any given time
6. Ask questions if there’s something one or all of you don’t understand
7. Listen to feedback and give yourself time to understand and use it
8. Do your homework
9. Practice your new strategies and skills individually and with each other at home
10. Use your previously learned skills and strategies on an ongoing basis
Other Frequently Asked Questions
For answers to the most frequently asked questions, please see our FAQ page.