While we have a number of highly efficacious therapeutic systems at our disposal, including:

• The internal family systems (IFS) model that allows us to set up enactments within the family, identify sequences, work with parts
• Emotion focused therapy (EFT) which is an Attachment led approach combining systemic and experiential methods
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) which can be especially useful where physical, emotional, verbal abuse or family conflict has occurred
• Experiential Therapy in its own right including the use of sand trays, puppets et al

It requires multiple levels of judicious judgement by the family therapist to use these systems in tandem so as to deliver the most effective and beneficial therapy which is tailored to the needs of the client family.

To tackle these challenges, Kathleen Mates-Youngman, the globally renowned family and couples therapist, has created this cutting-edge training course where she explains how she combines the different therapeutic tools in order to create healthy shifts in families. Her approach uses a combination of therapeutic schools of thought and creates the desired results by identifying family values, defining and directly addressing different forms of abuse in familial settings and using the therapeutic stance, words and interventions to create a stronger foundation in client families.

Specifically, she discusses:

Module 1: Challenges and goals of family therapy:

• creating a safe space
• reassurance that the family is the client
• allowing each family member to feel seen, heard and validated
• using our stance, words and interventions to create a stronger foundation, sense of connection, and overall health in the family

Module 2:  Foundational traits of healthy families:

• defining and practicing healthy communication
• showing respect with words and actions
• identifying family values
• understanding parenting styles and individual temperament
• nurturing self-esteem and compassion
• creating healthy boundaries and discipline

Module 3: Working with unique family challenges:

• impact of anxiety and/or depression on the family system
• coping with grief
• defining and treating verbal, emotional and physical abuse
• adjusting to separation, divorce and blended families

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