Therapy for Families is often the turning point in a family’s dynamics and relationships with one another. With a trained family therapist, a family can work through conflicts, rebuild trust, establish ground rules, and collaborate on realistic expectations. However, the one caveat of all family therapy activities is that they require full participation from every member.
Since we live during the age of a worldwide pandemic and imposed travel restrictions, it may seem impossible to gather all members for activities or therapy sessions. Luckily, there are ways you can still do family therapy activities remotely! In this blog post we will discuss some great online activities for families as well as tips on how to make them successful.
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Remote Family Therapy Interventions
Compile a Genogram
A genogram is a family tree that tracks family relationships and medical history. This activity can be great for demonstrating hereditary patterns of behavior and medical and psychological factors that run through families. This is a great activity to do early in family therapy as it can help the therapist better understand the history of the family dynamics. To make a digital genogram, family members can collaborate on Google Slides or create a free account on a family tree website.
Schedule Regular Family Meetings
Family meetings should be held on a regular basis. During these meetings, family members come together and discuss issues that are impacting them. They can also be used to celebrate successes, discuss family goals, and provide a forum for family members to share feelings. Family meetings can be held in person or online using video chat software like Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime.
Family Therapy Activities for Trust-Building
Family Dinner Party
One activity that can be done remotely is called the family dinner party. This involves each family member sending a picture of their dinner plate to the group chat or email thread. Everyone then discusses what they are eating, where it is from, and any memories associated with this dish. Not only does this promote communication and storytelling within the family, but it also invokes the sense of family dinner around the table!
Family Movie Night
Another great activity for trust-building is family movie night. This can be done by streaming a movie or TV show on a family device like Apple TV, Chromecast, or Roku. Alternatively, each family member can download their own copy of the film and watch it at the same time on different devices. During the movie, family members can discuss their thoughts and feelings about the film. This is a great way to bond over a shared experience and talk about issues that are important to them.
Therapy is hard work, but the reward of having healthy communication and mutual respect between family members is worth it. By using these activities, you can help your family build trust and start to resolve the conflicts that have been pulling them apart. If you are in need of a family therapist near me, please visit our website to learn more about how Brett Beaver can help.
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Brett Beaver, LMFT is a licensed family therapist with more than two decades of experience. Connect with him today to learn more about scheduling a family counseling session.