Family therapy can be a good place to start getting the psychological care one needs. Often, the problems caused by a psychological or substance abuse disorder have ripple effects that cause problems for the family unit as a whole, meaning that dealing with them together as a family unit can be of great help not just to the individual with the greatest need for psychological assistance. It can also help other family members feel that their needs and struggles through difficult situations are also being recognized.
But there are times when family therapy alone may not be enough. If an individual is so disturbed that they manage to use the family therapy sessions to increase the stress and pain they are already inflicting on other family members, then the good a family therapy session can do is completely negated, and the problems for the family can in fact even worsen. This can often be the case when dealing with sociopaths, for example. In these situations, it is probably better for the individual to be separated from the family during therapy sessions, and a referral to a professional specializing in this type of therapy or this type of patient would be recommended.
It must be recognized that family therapy does not always work. In a study of survivorship of schizophrenic patients in family therapy, for example, family therapy alone was less effective than a combination of family therapy plus social skills training (Hogarty, Kornblith, Greenwald, DiBarry, Cooley, Ulrich, Carter, and Flesher, 1997). Thus it is important to keep in mind that other options, or a combination of options, may be necessary for patient treatment, and other options explored, including combined therapy methods, or in some cases, ceasing family therapy altogether.
References:
Gerard E. Hogarty, M.S.W.; Sander J. Kornblith, Ph.D.; Deborah Greenwald, Ph.D.; Ann
Louise DiBarry, M.S.N.; Susan Cooley, M.S.N.; Richard F. Ulrich, M.S.; Mary
Carter, Ph.D.; Samuel Flesher, Ph.D. November 1, 1997. “Three-Year Trials of Personal Therapy Among Schizophrenic Patients Living With or Independent of Family, I: Description of Study and Effects on Relapse Rates.” The American Journal of Psychiatry. Vol. 154, No. 11. 1504-1513.
