At Aarc, we believe that the family is a unique social system with its own structure and patterns of communication. These patterns are determined by many factors, including the parents’ beliefs and values, the personalities of all family members, and the influence of the extended family.

Family therapy is a very active process at Aarc, we focus on the family strength, and encourage all members to take responsibility for problems. Some family members may need to change their behaviour more than others.

Any change in one member of the family affects both the family structure and each member individually. Issues that affect structure may be:

• Change of job
• Financial problems
• Moving to a new area
• Parental conflict
• Children with behaviour or school problems
• Children or teens who have problems getting along with each other
• A family member with addiction to sex, alcohol or drugs
• Physical illness or mental illness in one family member
• Integrating children from previous marriages

Our goal is to:

• Teach family members about how families function in general and, in particular, how their own functions
• Move the focus from the individual onto the family as a whole
• Help to uncover hidden issues that create conflict and anxieties.
• Help the family develop strategies to resolve them.
• Empower all family members so they can work on their problems together.

Benefit

• We believe it is best if all family members work together toward a common goal. However, if one member refuses to attend sessions, other family members can still benefit by attending.
• Individuals learn more about themselves and about how their family functions.
• Step- family members learn how to live together.