The scope and benefits of
Experiential Family Therapy Experiential therapy can help build intimacy. Families should generally be already relatively stable in order to benefit from experiential family therapy.
Overview
Experiential family therapy examines how family interactions cause problems for individual family members. Experiential family therapy may be used in addition to one-on-one sessions. Experiential family therapy is a school of family psychotherapy developed by Carl Whitaker in the 1960s. It seeks to help individual family members feel more fulfilled and self-actualized by building levels of intimacy and cooperation within the family unit. This kind of therapy does not typically blame the problems of the family on the qualities …show more content…
Experiential family therapy generally seeks to help family members communicate and respect one another's thoughts and feelings. Family members are typically encouraged to be themselves and family secrets are usually not encouraged. Problems among individual family members can stem from distance in interpersonal familial relationships, or from the keeping of secrets within the family. Some family members may feel compromised by the demands of the family as a whole. This can impair individuals' abilities to fully express themselves and meet their needs. Unlike some other types of family therapy, this therapy usually requires that the therapist treat the experience as a type of therapy for himself, as well as for the family. Therapists performing this kind of therapy may become more emotionally involved with their clients than therapists operating on other theories. Experiential family therapy usually emphasizes the …show more content…
Because experiential therapy patients are often focused on the task or activity at hand - rather than on the therapeutic aspect of the experience - they are more likely to behave in a more unguarded and genuine manner. This can be a positive key factor in treatment.
When the experiential therapist and the patient process the experience - a discussion that may take place during or after the activity - the patient receives specific feedback regarding specific actions or behaviors. At the same time, the patient has the opportunity to identify and evaluate the behaviors that he/she exhibited during experiential therapy, as well as the thoughts or prior experiences that may have prompted those behaviors.
Though not necessarily a primary focus of experiential therapy, the activities that patients participate in may also serve the purpose of providing them with new ways of filling leisure time or other “down times” during their daily lives.
This may be particularly important for individuals who are in treatment for substance abuse or addiction, as part of the recovery process involves finding healthy and productive leisure activities to fill the hours previously occupied by searching for, acquiring, and using alcohol or other
Experiential Family Therapy Experiential therapy can help build intimacy. Families should generally be already relatively stable in order to benefit from experiential family therapy.
Overview
Experiential family therapy examines how family interactions cause problems for individual family members. Experiential family therapy may be used in addition to one-on-one sessions. Experiential family therapy is a school of family psychotherapy developed by Carl Whitaker in the 1960s. It seeks to help individual family members feel more fulfilled and self-actualized by building levels of intimacy and cooperation within the family unit. This kind of therapy does not typically blame the problems of the family on the qualities …show more content…
Experiential family therapy generally seeks to help family members communicate and respect one another's thoughts and feelings. Family members are typically encouraged to be themselves and family secrets are usually not encouraged. Problems among individual family members can stem from distance in interpersonal familial relationships, or from the keeping of secrets within the family. Some family members may feel compromised by the demands of the family as a whole. This can impair individuals' abilities to fully express themselves and meet their needs. Unlike some other types of family therapy, this therapy usually requires that the therapist treat the experience as a type of therapy for himself, as well as for the family. Therapists performing this kind of therapy may become more emotionally involved with their clients than therapists operating on other theories. Experiential family therapy usually emphasizes the …show more content…
Because experiential therapy patients are often focused on the task or activity at hand - rather than on the therapeutic aspect of the experience - they are more likely to behave in a more unguarded and genuine manner. This can be a positive key factor in treatment.
When the experiential therapist and the patient process the experience - a discussion that may take place during or after the activity - the patient receives specific feedback regarding specific actions or behaviors. At the same time, the patient has the opportunity to identify and evaluate the behaviors that he/she exhibited during experiential therapy, as well as the thoughts or prior experiences that may have prompted those behaviors.
Though not necessarily a primary focus of experiential therapy, the activities that patients participate in may also serve the purpose of providing them with new ways of filling leisure time or other “down times” during their daily lives.
This may be particularly important for individuals who are in treatment for substance abuse or addiction, as part of the recovery process involves finding healthy and productive leisure activities to fill the hours previously occupied by searching for, acquiring, and using alcohol or other