Family therapy, also referred to as couple and family therapy, marriage and family therapy, family systems therapy, and family counseling, is a branch of psychotherapy that works with families and couples in intimate relationships to nurture positive changes that will improve and enrich their relationships.
In the field’s early years, many clinicians defined the family in a narrow, traditional manner usually including parents and children. As the field has evolved, the concept of the family is more commonly defined in terms of strongly supportive, long-term roles and relationships between people who may or may not be related by blood or marriage.
Dr. Bresler agrees with Salvador Manuchin, the father of family therapy, who taught, “Even if only one member of the family has a problem, the whole family must be considered your patient, for they are all affected by it.”
