Couples and Family Work

What is Couples and Family Work? 

Couples and Family Work is a short- to medium-term talking therapy.  It is a type of Systemic Therapy or Family Therapy.

 

It is informed by systemic theory that broadly proposes: 1) people live within and between multiple relational and social systems (such as their family unit, and their network of acquaintanceships, friendships and relationships); 2) each person has diverse contextual characteristics (such as relating to their age, ethnicity and culture); 3) understanding how relational, social and contextual factors influence and are influenced by each other can help us make sense of why difficulties develop and persist for one person or within a relationship or family; and 4) learning extra ways of responding to past, present and anticipated upsetting or challenging events or transitions – individually and jointly with others can strengthen relationships, and improve emotional wellbeing and day-to-day functioning. 

 

Good Couples and Family Work does not mean that a therapist takes sides with one person in a relationship or family, or that only one person can express their views during a session and everyone else is expected to remain quiet.  

 

Good Couples and Family Work involves each person who attends sessions sharing their thoughts in whichever way works for them – some people find it easy to speak up, but many do not.  So, an important part of initial sessions is about creating a space that feels as okay as it can for all, as well as identifying each person’s hopes and expectations for therapy.  Subsequent sessions focus on understanding how relational, social and contextual factors are the same and different for each person and how these can influence communication, responses and coping styles.  This information helps with identifying and testing out different strategies for responding to planned and unexpected day-to-day events that have previously been challenging or resulted in upset.

 

Couples and Family Work focuses on the present and the past.  Within therapy, there is emphasis on what is happening in the ‘here and now’.  However, this is seen in the context of how things have developed over time, individually and for the couple or family collectively. 

 

Aside from seeing a therapist privately, Couples and Family Work may be available via the NHS Talking Therapies and Psychological Therapies services, that are situated across England - your GP should be able to advise about referral routes.  Some services offer Couples and Family Work with one therapist, and some services have two therapists join a session.

 

If you would like more information about Couples and Family Work, the AFT website (Association for Family Therapy and Systemic Practice; the body that offers accreditation to training courses, and family therapists and systemic practitioners) may be a helpful resource.  

 

Does Couples and Family Work work?  

Some research has examined the effectiveness of different types of family-focused interventions (including Family Therapy, Systemic Therapy and Couples Therapy), for different populations, such as when one person in the family has depression, eating disorders, psychosis or a physical health condition.  

The evidence suggests these interventions can be beneficial for reducing symptom severity and burden, and improving quality of life and functioning, when compared with no active treatment and sometimes when compared with a different active treatment (usually another type of talking therapy).  

There is general consensus that more high quality treatment trials are needed to understand who can benefit from these interventions.  

 

If you would like to know more about the effectiveness of Couples and Family Work, we recommend looking at the Cochrane library publications, or at systematic reviews and meta-analyses that summarise treatment trial data of family-focused interventions.  

 

How can Couples and Family Work help me?  

Couples and Family Work can help you to:
 

 

• explore factors that may influence relational and social difficulties or contribute to a sense of feeling stuck in relationships

• talk more openly and assertively about the concerns and needs you and people close to you have 

• manage the challenges, life transitions or big changes happening to you or people around you, more effectively

• improve communication and strengthen relationships with people who are important to you 

• increase your range of coping strategies, individually and together with others