At some point in your life, you may realize that you need psychological help. Then the question arises about the form of this assistance. If you are a single person, then everything is more or less clear. The most obvious option is a custom form. Less obvious (but more effective) is a combination of personal and group work. However, if you have a family, then it is worth considering the family format of therapy. Why? As a person who has been on both sides of the “barricade”, both as a client and as a consultant, I want to share my thoughts on this topic. I hope that for those family readers who are now wondering which form of work to choose, this information will be useful. Let's answer a few simple questions. Where do you go to work, to have fun with friends, to therapy? Where do you go back after all this? Where do you spend this time? That's right, in your family. And this is a very important point! Family is a very interesting and strong form of human relationships. It has its own specific mechanisms of development, functioning, its own crises, which differ from life outside the family. And this is why the family will resist your changes that will occur in individual therapy. This is normal, as it is a direct consequence of systemic intrafamily processes. On the other hand, by wisely using the potential that exists in almost every family, you have a unique (for singles it is fundamentally inaccessible) opportunity to cope with the difficulties that arise faster and more effectively. To put it very simply, you will spend less money and time, which can be very significant in our time. I believe that when there is a family, any isolated individual work increases the distance between spouses. This happens because in the process of work we come into contact with topics that are quite significant and intimate for a person, and this cannot be done without trusting, sincere, human relationships (otherwise it is an imitation of work). Yes, these relationships are therapeutic in nature, there are ethical standards, but we are not robots to suddenly turn off everything with a switch, erase memories, thoughts and feelings. It turns out that one of the spouses enters into close relationships outside the family at least once a week, and the other family member knows about it. This information will create additional tension within the family. And, if we take into account that a family is a kind of living organism, where tension periodically increases due to various features of its existence, then we can get a sharp jump in it (with the risk of a crisis). And here those very systemic family processes will already turn on, the family itself will try to somehow relieve the tension that has arisen. But how will she do this and what will be the consequences? This is a big and controversial issue that is worth considering when planning your appeal. When working with a person individually, I care about his personal happiness and well-being, which may not be at all related to his current family. Moreover, sometimes the family itself can be a chronic traumatic situation, a source of suffering. Then, as a result of work, a person may have a question about the advisability of continuing the current family relationship. I am not saying that this always happens, however, the likelihood of such events is very high. Therefore, I always warn family clients about this at the initial stage and tell them about the possible consequences. But the choice is always yours.