Atlanta Mental Health Services
Our family counseling in Atlanta can empower our clients and their loved ones to function as a healthier unit and do a better job of supporting each other.
When a person develops a mental or behavioral health disorder, they are often not the only ones whose lives are disrupted.
Friends, family members, and others who care about or depend upon them can also be affected. These people can also play important roles in their loved one’s efforts to get treatment and regain control of their thoughts and actions.
At New View Wellness, our evidence-based mental health therapy in Atlanta can help you create new pathways to recovery.
At New View Wellness in Atlanta, family counseling is a service for the loved ones of people who are participating in outpatient treatment.
Family counseling sessions are supportive forums where participants can learn about the disorder that their loved one has been struggling with. During family counseling, participants can also address the ways that they have been affected by their loved one’s struggles.
As with virtually all other elements of care at our center in Atlanta, family counseling sessions can be customized to best meet the specific needs of the participants. We work closely with each client and their loved ones to determine the full scope of their needs, so that we can provide the focused mental health services that will best prepare them for long-term success.
Family counseling works by bringing groups of loved ones together in a structured and supportive environment with the guidance of a trained professional.
Family counseling sessions may focus on education, therapy, or a combination of the two. Depending on the needs of the participants, family counseling can also be an opportunity to resolve conflicts and begin building stronger relationships.
The educational component of family counseling can help participants develop a better understanding of what the person in treatment has been experiencing. Education may focus on the type of mental illness the person has developed, the treatment they are receiving at New View Wellness, and the challenges they may face after they return home.
The therapeutic component of family counseling can help participants process how they have been affected by their loved one’s struggles. Untreated mental health disorders can put a strain on spouses, partners, friends, and caregivers. They can also disrupt family structures and damage or ruin personal relationships.
When a person begins to heal from a mental illness, part of the process may involve establishing healthier boundaries or otherwise altering the dynamics of their relationships. These actions can be extremely beneficial, but they can also be sources of stress or conflict. Family counseling can help all participants understand and appreciate the need to redefine certain aspects of their relationships.
Family counseling can take many forms, including single- and multi-family configurations.
Single-family sessions involve one group of people who share a connection with the person who is receiving mental health treatment. During single-family sessions, participants may focus on their relationships with each other and with the person who is receiving care.
Multi-family sessions are larger groups that may include the loved ones of several people who are receiving treatment at New View Wellness. During multi-family sessions, participants can share their thoughts, learn from the experiences of others, and form mutually supportive relationships with other people who have faced similar challenges.
Here’s one more important note about family counseling: While the term “family” is commonly used to describe this type of counseling, participants do not have to be related to each other in either a genetic or legal sense.
Clients at our center can identify the important people in their lives that they would like to invite to family counseling sessions. This may include spouses, parents, partners, children, siblings, close friends, or other people who play significant roles in the person’s life.
New View Wellness is an industry leader in mental health treatment. Our team of top medical experts specialize in dual diagnosis treatment and are committed to ensuring that each patient is treated as an individual. Call us today, we’re available 24/7.
As noted at the end of the previous section, the word “family” can mean different things to different people. At our center in Atlanta, family counseling sessions include people who have been identified by our clients.
In some cases, this may include a full, traditional nuclear family (parents and siblings). In other cases, it may include extended family members, such as aunts, uncles, or cousins. In still other circumstances, it may include close friends who have formed a family-like bond with the person who is receiving care.
In addition to determining who should participate in family counseling, our clients can also identify people who they do not wish to invite to these sessions. Just because someone is a parent or sibling of a person who is receiving care, this doesn’t mean that they have automatically earned an invitation to family counseling at New View Wellness.
If a client or family member has any questions about who should and shouldn’t be included in family counseling sessions, a member of our team will be happy to discuss this matter with them.
Family counseling sessions are not designed to treat the symptoms of any mental illness. Instead, their purpose is to address the impact that these conditions have had on loved ones, family structures, and relationships, with the goal of empowering people to better support each other.
At New View Wellness in Atlanta, family counseling sessions are sources of both information and support. As people develop a greater awareness of the struggles their loved ones have been facing, they may become better prepared to support them. In turn, as our clients learn more about how their behaviors may have affected their loved ones, they can begin to heal any rifts that have occurred in their relationships.
Ideally, family counseling and therapy should address the specific needs of each group. This means that the benefits participants receive may vary widely from group to group.
In general, though, people who participate in family counseling in Atlanta at New View Wellness can expect the following:
Family counseling is an integral part of outpatient mental health treatment at New View Wellness. To best prepare our clients for long-term success, we want to be sure they have a functional and effective personal support network. To accomplish this, we have established a dynamic family counseling program for our clients and their loved ones. To learn more about the features and benefits of family counseling at our center in Atlanta, please contact us today.