Family Counselling in Singapore
Making families stronger together!
At TYHO, we give a hand to families dealing with hard times. We’re proud that nearly 98% of our clients feel better after working with us.
Browse through our counsellors, watch their videos, and read what other clients say. Find the right professional for your family today.
Our Family Therapists in Singapore
How Therapy Works on TYHO
Choose a Counsellor
Read their profiles and watch their videos to find someone who truly understands!
Book Your Session
Select your preferred service, medium, and available date to book a session.
Start Therapy
Go for online video or audio sessions, or plan an in-person session based on your comfort.
Why Family Counselling With TYHO?
Connect with Singaporean counsellors known for their empathy, knowledge, and commitment.
Experienced Family Counsellors
Our team has professionals who deliver quality help tailored to your family's unique situation.
Family-Centric Counselling Plans
Our counsellors use strategies focusing on your family's emotional and social needs.
Consistent High-Quality Support
We're dedicated to ensuring your family has a positive experience in every counselling session.
User-Friendly Service
Our service is created with your comfort in mind, making access to therapy as easy as possible.
Inclusive Counselling Approach
We believe in involving all family members in counselling, equipping them with the right tools.
Safeguarding Your Privacy
We strictly follow all ethical guidelines to protect your family's information.
What Is Family Counselling?
Family therapy, also known as family counselling, is a branch of psychotherapy that seeks to improve communication and resolve conflicts within a family.
This therapeutic approach views the family as a single emotional unit, asserting that individual problems cannot be separated from the family context.
Family therapy derives its roots from systems theory, which asserts that each part of a system is interconnected, and a change in one part can lead to changes in others.
Similarly, a family is seen as a system of relationships and interactions that affect each member’s behaviours, feelings, and mental health.
Family therapy aims to help family members improve communication, understand and manage special family situations (like losing a loved one, physical or mental condition, or child and young adult issues), and create a better-functioning home environment.
In family therapy, therapists often work with multiple family members, both in group sessions and individual consultations, to identify patterns of interaction and devise strategies to address and improve problematic dynamics.
Remember, family therapy is not about assigning blame or identifying a single person as the cause of the issues. Instead, it’s about understanding how the family as a whole operates, the dynamics at play, and how these factors contribute to the problems encountered by family members.
This understanding paves the way for collective healing and growth, fostering healthier relationships within the family.
What are the types of family therapy?
Family therapy is an expansive field with various therapeutic models, each addressing different aspects of family relationships, interactions, and dynamics.
Here are some of the most widely recognised types of family therapy:
- Structural Family Therapy (SFT): Developed by Salvador Minuchin, SFT focuses on the structure and organisation of a family. This approach aims to identify the patterns of interaction that define a family and then, if necessary, reshape these patterns to improve overall family functioning.
- Strategic Family Therapy (SFT): Strategic family therapy is a fast-paced, brief form of therapy that focuses on resolving specific problems. The therapist helps the family devise and implement carefully designed strategies to address the issues at hand.
- Systemic Family Therapy (SFT): Also known as Milan systemic family therapy, this approach views problems within the context of the larger system of the family, school, work, and community. The therapy seeks to address problematic behaviours by understanding the underlying systemic influences.
- Narrative Family Therapy: Originating from the work of Michael White and David Epston, narrative therapy centres around the “stories” that individuals and families tell about their lives. The therapy aims to help the family construct new, more positive narratives about themselves and their relationships.
- Solution-Focused Brief Therapy (SFBT): SFBT is future-focused and goal-directed. It helps individuals and families to focus on solutions rather than dwelling on problems. The therapy typically involves setting specific, achievable goals and developing strategies to reach those goals.
- Bowenian Family Therapy: Based on the work of Murray Bowen, this therapy revolves around two core concepts, differentiation of self and triangulation. The treatment reduces anxiety and increases family members’ ability to function independently and interdependently.
- Transgenerational Family Therapy: This therapy addresses issues and patterns passed down through generations of a family. It helps family members understand and modify unhealthy ways of relating and behaving inherited from previous generations.
These therapeutic models provide unique insights and tools for addressing family problems and enhancing family relationships.
The choice of the therapeutic approach depends on the specific issues, family structure, and goals of the therapy. It’s important to remember that a trained professional should always provide family therapy.
What are the benefits of family therapy?
Here are some of the significant benefits family therapy offers:
Improved Communication: Family therapy allows members to express their feelings and thoughts openly. This increased transparency can lead to enhanced understanding and stronger communication among members.
Strengthened Relationships: Through therapy, family members can develop empathy for each other, appreciate their differences, and strengthen their bonds. This understanding and respect for one another can result in healthier relationships within the family.
Effective Conflict Resolution: Therapists provide families with the tools and techniques to effectively resolve disputes non-confrontational and constructively. By applying these strategies, families can resolve disagreements and avoid potential conflicts in the future.
Enhanced Family Functioning: By working through individual and collective issues, family therapy can improve overall family functioning. It enables families to handle stress more effectively, enhances cooperation, and promotes a sense of unity.
Support During Major Life Changes: Family therapy can be particularly beneficial during times of significant change or crisis, such as divorce, the death of a loved one, or a significant move. It offers a supportive environment to help members navigate these difficult situations.
Improved Mental Health: Family therapy can contribute to better mental health outcomes for family members. Addressing family dynamics and interpersonal relationships can help alleviate mental health issues like anxiety, depression, and stress.
Positive Behavioural Changes: The therapy can guide families towards positive behavioural changes. It helps members understand the impact of their actions on others, encouraging them to adopt more constructive behaviour patterns.
By involving the entire family in the therapeutic process, family therapy allows for a comprehensive approach to improving the emotional wellness of all members. The shared understanding and collective effort often lead to long-term benefits that extend well beyond the therapy sessions
How Can Family Counsellors Help You?
Family therapy is recommended for those who find that they are/have:
Visiting a family counsellor can provide crucial guidance to navigate interpersonal conflicts, improve communication, and foster stronger bonds. It helps enhance the overall wellbeing of the family.
Family counselling can help families who are going through a tough time, a major life transition, or coping with behavioural or mental health problems in family members.
Some issues, such as financial struggles, grief and even daily stressors, could strain the relationship between family members. Family therapy addresses ongoing conflicts and helps family members develop and maintain a healthy, functional family.
As conflicts arise, family members may find it hard to communicate honestly without hurting each other’s feelings. Our Singapore family counsellors create a comfortable space for open communication to reduce unspoken resentment.
This will help your family understand each other’s perspectives. Understanding each other is crucial in creating a treatment plan where all family members can work together to address family conflicts.
Depending on your goals, family counselling allows you to:
Some things that you can consider doing are:
If you have tried these suggestions and your family members are still uncomfortable with family therapy, you can try individual counselling first.
Our therapists are professional psychologists and counsellors. In individual therapy, you may choose to work on any issue that affects you, including the difficulties you face concerning your family.
As you continue your journey in individual therapy, consider sharing your counselling journey with your family members, as it might help them to feel more open to attending family counselling sessions with you.
Observing a positive change in you and your relationship with your family members may encourage them to try family counselling with a Singapore family therapist.
Frequently Asked Questions
Each family is unique; the goals of family counselling may thus look different depending on the needs of each family.
The counsellor, as well as the family, will collaborate to co-create the goals of family counselling.
Some examples of goals set in family counselling services include:
- Identifying conflicts and developing methods to address them.
- Learning more about each family member’s perspective.
- Highlighting problematic communication patterns and replacing them with more effective ones.
- Replacing unhelpful behaviours with healthier alternatives.
- Instilling trust and honesty within the family.
It is normal to experience hesitation when deciding whether or not you should book a counselling session, particularly if it would be your first time in therapy.
Much like other situations, we are initially unfamiliar with, we might feel apprehensive or even intimidated.
The reality is that people attend counselling sessions for all sorts of reasons, and family counselling is no exception.
Family counselling can be beneficial for families going through a transition (eg parenting counselling) or when family members find it increasingly difficult to communicate effectively with one another.
Even daily stressors can strain relationships! Family counselling services in Singapore create a safe and comfortable space that fosters open communication.
The cost of a therapy session varies based on several factors, such as whether the session is for an individual, couple, or family and whether the session is conducted online or in person.
For more details on the price of family counselling services in Singapore, visit Talk Your Heart Out’s pricing page.
Where possible, it will be beneficial if all relevant parties in the immediate family are in attendance during family counselling sessions.
However, considerations about age may also be made. For example, discussing certain topics in front of adolescents or children may not be appropriate.
In such scenarios, the therapist may suggest not including adolescents or children in certain discussion segments or selected family therapy sessions.
Determining who needs to be present for family therapy depends mainly on the concerns and goals of the family.
There are times when other people not in one’s immediate family, such as members of one’s extended family, play a vital role in the main reason for seeking family therapy.
This may include grandparents, uncles and aunts, or in-laws.
Depending on your family’s needs and motivations for seeking family therapy, you may wish to discuss with your therapist who should attend the family therapy sessions.
Having at least one family member who refuses to attend family counselling is common.
Examples of things you can do include having an open and honest conversation with them about your reasons for wanting to seek family therapy and how you hope it will help your family specifically.
When suggesting family therapy, one possibility is to offer different options, so your family members have a say in decision-making.
For instance, you may wish to discuss with your family members which therapist they prefer and whether the family would like to attend online or in-person family therapy sessions.
You may also gently ask your family members why they do not want to seek family counselling services.
Some people also choose to start with individual therapy on their own to gain clarity on how the issues within their family are affecting them individually.
They can then explore different ways of managing the situation or coping better.
Having one family member who attends individual counselling sessions may also normalise the idea of therapy for other family members.
Not Ready for Family Counselling?
We get it! While you’re thinking it over, you’re welcome to connect with our supportive network at TYHO.
In our community, we regularly share helpful and insightful content through blog posts that delve into various aspects of relationships.
Plus, we host free interactive webinars and events that offer practical advice and tips for strengthening your interpersonal bonds.
