Families Experience with Family Therapy: A Qualitative Inquiry

Families Experience with Family Therapy: A Qualitative Inquiry

Various studies have found out that the experiences of the families with family therapy in several countries have generally been positive and the number of the people who benefit from family therapy is also high. Studies reveal that though there is a heightened need for family therapy in India, there is a kind of reluctance among the people towards it. When there is good number of literature in India that reveals the general attitude of Indian population towards family therapy, there is a lack of studies that explore the lived experience of the family members who have undergone family therapy. This study was designed to examine therapy from the point of view of the families. The participants of this study were eight families from Kerala and Karnataka who had completed entire family therapy under the trained professionals in the duration of last five months. The data was collected through in-depth interviews. The study reveals the common factors that led the families to family therapy, their experience with the whole therapeutic process, the barriers that prevented them and the perceived benefits of family therapy. Ten global themes and twenty seven organizing themes have been identified on the whole in relation with the research query. The findings are described along with the practical implication, suggestions and future research agendas. Keywords: Therapeutic process, Rapport building, Working phase, Termination, Interventions, Mental well-being

James Roby

Department of Psychology