Relationship & Family Therapy
Relationship and family therapy is an integral component of the Bipolar Advantage Program. Relationship and family therapy is unique in that the focus of therapy is not a single individual but rather a relationship. In family therapy, all of the participants have the opportunity to directly address their concerns and hopes for positive change in family life. Everyone’s point of view is important and no one gets left out in the cold.
Examples of relationships that might be the focus of relationship and family therapy in the Bipolar Advantage Program are:
- Couples
- Parent and younger child
- Parent and teenager
- Parent and adult child
- Parents together
- Sibling relationships
- Entire families
When someone in a family is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, all of the members of the family are affected. Like so many other chronic conditions, bipolar disorder is a family issue and the well being of the person with bipolar is affected, for better or for worse, by the quality of family relationships and by the level of support provided by the family. Better family relationships and higher levels of family support lead to significantly improved outcomes in people with bipolar.
Likewise, when family members better understand bipolar disorder and don’t feel that their family is stigmatized or that they have to walk on eggshells around the person with bipolar, everyone in the family benefits. As well as learning about bipolar disorder it is also important for family members to develop the skills necessary to help reduce conflict in the family and to learn how to manage difficult situations without overreacting. The research suggests that when families can develop these kinds of skills everyone does much better and is more likely to do well into the future. Doing well in the present and into the future are critical goals supported by the Bipolar Advantage Program.
Research also supports the effectiveness of relationship and family therapy in dealing with the full range of mental and emotional disorders and other mental health concerns. It makes sense that relationship and family therapy works because all of the key players have a chance to get involved in therapy and in improving their relationships and their lives—it’s not left on the shoulders of just one person in the family to do such fundamentally important work.
No two families or relationships are the same and no two persons with bipolar disorder experience it in the same way. Your Bipolar Advantage Program relationship and family therapist will meet you and your family wherever you are at—whether you are doing fairly well and just need to improve certain areas of relationship functioning or whether you feel like your relationships with your family are falling apart and broken. You can expect acceptance, safety, concern and care for your personal, relationship, and family well-being from your Bipolar Advantage Program relationship and family therapist.
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