Family and Systemic psychotherapists can offer a mixture of individual or family or group appointments.

Family Therapists build on the existing strengths of the individuals, couples and families that they meet. They aim not to take sides, blame, or provide simple ‘one size fits all’ answers. They facilitate and engage people in sharing understandings and views with each other and exploring ways forward that work for them

Meetings (or ‘sessions’) with a Family Therapist usually last between 50-90 minutes, depending on client need and service organisation. The Family Therapist aims to make people feel welcome, and to give everyone a chance to contribute to discussions if they wish.

They will adapt their ways of working according to people’s ages, needs, resources and preferences. Sessions involving children, for example, often include play and drawing. Some people may wish to talk together from the start of therapy sessions, while others may prefer some individual time with their Family Therapist before deciding if, what and how to share their thoughts and feelings with others. The Family Therapist will discuss with you how you would like to work together.

Some Family Therapists work individually. Others work in teams or in partnership with colleagues, depending on the agency or where they work and if those attending give consent for this. Sometimes these colleagues sit behind a one-way mirror or screen to watch therapist and family talk together and then share reflections and explore possibilities. Sometimes, there may be colleagues in the room, observing the process. Towards the end of the session, they may share their thoughts and reflections with you and your family therapist. Many families say they find this ‘team’ approach to complex difficulties very helpful.

Nowadays, many family therapists are offering therapy remotely, through Zoom or through telephone consultations.

No. They may see children and adults individually and/or in family member groups. They may work with couples, or with other groups and communities, and with people across the lifespan, from children to older adults.

When a family is involved with several different agencies, family therapists may work with the network of professionals as well as with family members to ensure their input is co-ordinated and helpful.

Some family therapists use their understandings of relationships to work with organisations. Many use their skills in family sensitive working to train and/or supervise other professionals.

Some Family Therapists specialise in working with individuals and communities under-represented in mainstream services, including LGBT clients, those from minority ethnic communities, intercultural couples and mixed race families.

No-one lives their life in isolation. Publicly and privately, at work and at home, we all have an impact on the people around us. Each of us is one part of a wider network or ‘system’. Our interactions with other people are how the system works.  
  
Imagine that your family at a meal time is a system. Some family members may be happily chatting to each other, others may sit in silence throughout the meal, resenting being asked anything. Others may argue leading someone else to have to calm the situation and negotiate a peace. And this repeats every meal time because you have all developed different ways of relating to each other. These are what a Family and System Psychotherapist would describe as ‘patterns’.  
  
As time goes by, these systems grow and change as different factors come into play. Perhaps, a child has become a teenager, but the parents still treat them as they would a younger child. The patterns no longer work, and the system becomes stuck.  
  
A Family and Systemic Psychotherapist could help you take on a different position, either by working with individuals or the whole family. They can look at how different factors affect people within the system. They will help emphasise the strengths, resilience and resources available and how everyone helps contribute to the functioning of the system.  
  
The aim is to help everyone understand each other, develop new ways to talk to each other. This can help create an environment in which everyone supports each other promoting health and wellbeing.   

Family therapy is typically brief – usually 6 to 8 sessions over a six month period. However, sometimes difficulties are more complex and families may need longer to find solutions that work for them. Your Family Therapist will be happy to discuss timings and timescales with you.

Different cultures and different groups of individuals have different notions of what 'family' means. Sometimes families are defined by those who live in the same household or have a biological connection. AFT takes a wide view and see 'family' to mean any group of people who define themselves as such, who care about and care for each other.

Sometimes, when one person or group is keen to try Family Therapy others close to them may be more reluctant. This is understandable. Going to Family Therapy can feel like a big step and some people are more ready to take it than others.

It may be useful to arrange an initial meeting or consultation with the Family Therapist, to discuss the possibility of working together and give everyone a chance to air their concerns and ask questions. Your Family Therapist will be happy to discuss ways forward with you.

You could say something like: ‘Sometimes there are worries or concerns in families and speaking to a family therapist will help all of us to understand each other better, and to improve communication within the family’.

It is important that no family member should feel singled out or as if they are ‘the problem’ or the reason for the family to be attending. It is also important not to lie to your children about where they are going and who they will be talking to, for example, telling them that they will be going to visit a family friend, or to the dentist!

Fully qualified Family Therapists may also be called ‘Family and Systemic Psychotherapists’. This title is reserved for professionals who have completed high level, AFT-accredited training courses and who are registered with the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy). Therapists must evidence high standards of practice and continuous learning to maintain their UKCP registration.

For a list of AFT members who are UKCP registered Family and Systemic Psychotherapists offering private practice, please see the UKCP directory.

The term ‘systemic practitioner’ refers to a person who has completed training in Family and Systemic Psychotherapy to intermediate level. They cannot provide family therapy, however they bring their systemic and other skills and knowledge to a range of health and social care settings.

Family therapy is provided free in CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and in NHS Adult mental health services.

Some charities and voluntary sector agencies provide subsidized family therapy. See our Useful Links page for a list of charities. Family therapists working independently charge according to their clinical experience, areas of expertise and location.

Some therapists in independent practice operate sliding scales, which are dependent on your ability to pay.

Family therapists are trained to work across the developmental life cycle; from infancy to death.

Family therapists working in CAMHS will focus on the issues related to the young person who has been referred and will work with their close adults to support them. Those working in adult services, independent practice or in the voluntary sector might work in a similar way or work with adults in relation to issues that concern them.

It is always best for the therapist to seek the consent of both parents to see their child in therapy, but this sometimes may not be possible. In certain circumstances, depending on the age of the child and whether they are deemed competent and autonomous enough, the therapist could see the child without the consent of a parent.

Family therapists will try their best to engage all members of the family, even those who are reluctant to attend. However, if they are not able to engage a particular family member they will work with whoever attends the session. Family therapists believe that change in one part of the system affects all other parts of the system so that if an individual shifts their position, it will lead to changes in all the other family members.

You are likely to have more questions specific to your circumstances. You may, for example, have queries about the confidentiality of what is discussed in therapy; who might be included in sessions; plus the time, place and duration of meetings and, if relevant, session costs and charges for cancelled appointments. You may wish to enquire about the therapist’s professional experience and training. These are important matters and your family therapists will be happy to discuss them with you when you first talk or meet.