Family Focused Therapy
In family focused therapy, your loved ones should participate with you. We will use a selection of techniques to help you turn your negative thinking into positive thinking.
Our goal is to help you reduce your anxiety by reforming the way you think. In addition, we will help you lower and test your anxiety level by providing you with some strategies to reduce anxiety.
Family Focused Therapy Technique - Turning negative thinking into positive thinking
Family Focused Therapy Intention - To help you reduce anxiety by replacing negative thinking with positive thinking:
Family Focused Therapy Practice
Together, your family and you can rephrase your messages in a positive term, e.g. "My goal is to overcome anxiety."
Ask your loved ones to share your goals with you and go through the process together.
Write out some affirmations on paper. For example, "I am intelligent." "I will conquer anger and other symptoms such as anxiety."
After you write your affirmations on paper, your family and you can choose the best affirmations that suit you.
Practice Family Focused Therapy
Write your favorite affirmations on paper while you think about them; choose the ones you like best. Write those affirmations 10 times.
Join with your family when you have completed them, saying your affirmations aloud.
Practice your affirmations every night and before each session.
Negative thoughts |
Affirmations |
"I can't get over this anxiety." |
"I am intelligent and have the abilities to conquer my anxiety." |
"I am an idiot" |
"I know how to find answers to solve my problems." |
"I'm exhausted." |
"Look out, here I come. Action is in progress." |
Next, Family Focused Therapy will help you reduce your anxiety.
Technique - reduce anxiety
Description - We will use strategies to help you reduce your feeling of uneasiness. Follow the techniques and strategies below to build coping skills.
Deep breathing exercises
You can ask your family to participate with you in this session. All of those who participate will be asked to do some deep breathing exercises. For about two to five minutes, each of you performs the breathing techniques in intervals. Close your eyes while concentrating on the air that is going in and out of your lungs. Take some deep breaths until you notice that the lungs and abdomen are filled and then hold your breath and then exhale.
Next, ask your family to assist you with tensing and relaxing muscle groupings. Tense and relax your neck and shoulders. By performing this action, you will become aware of the relaxation of the muscles. You can learn to relax more. In addition, you will feel more in control of your anxiety.
With your family participating, ask all members to join you in positive self-talk while thinking about 1) rational responses to counter the negative thoughts 2) thoughts that help you cope with stress 3) thoughts that help you to focus: for example, "I have the ability to conquer my disorder"; "some anxiety is good" and "I can solve my problems by breaking them down into parts."
Now, each of you moves to visualize yourselves doing well. Do not compare yourself to others. Once you complete the session, give each member, including yourself, a reward for your efforts. Continue building your interpersonal and social skills by following the steps below.
Technique Confirming Interpersonal Hunches about Others
Intention - to understand relationships and feelings about others
Description - what you think someone thinks about you, and what you think about that person, are powerful determinants of how you will relate to and interact with each other. Some of the following relationship skills may help:
1. If both of you disagree about how you perceive each other, reserve judgment and make more observations of each other's behavior.
2. If you feel misunderstood, try to change the other person's experience with you. Let them see another side of you.
3. Try to change your behavior.
4. Try to change the other person's behavior or help him or her make the desired changes.
5. Try to change your views of the other person.
6. Become more aware of your needs and wants.
7. Start to crusade to be better understood by others.
Technique Clarification and Reflection
Counseling Intention - to understand someone else's feelings through clarification and reflection.
Description - to clarify and reflect back to another person, remember the following acronyms:
FAT - Feelings, Actions, Thoughts
CPR - Clarify, Paraphrase and Reflect
Technique - Active Listening
Counseling intention
To communicate needs more assertively and less aggressively
Description
Step 1: "When…" (Concretely describe the other person's behaviors)
Step 2: "The effects are…" (Describe objectively how the other person's actions have affected you)
Step 3: "I feel…" (Accurately describe your feelings)
Step 4: "I prefer…" (Suggest what you would like to see happen) |