The process of healing takes time for a family that has been operating under the extreme stress caused by the demands of OCD. Family therapy is a process that requires each member's participation. Over several sessions, each family member can learn how he functions both positively and negatively with all the other members. When you first engage in family therapy, the therapist will function as an observer, a detached guide who is responsible for assisting the family to heal the broken parts of their relationships. After observing family dynamics in the context of therapy, the therapist will then play a more active role, interacting with the family and its members to encourage open communication.

The average number of sessions for family therapy is between six and ten, so you are not necessarily looking at a forever situation. Once the family is stabilized, the therapist can be used on an as needed basis. A trusted therapist whom your family can see when in crisis is an important ally for a family coping with OCD.

Why Go to Family Therapy?

Usually a family starts therapy when parents need guidance in managing their children. If you need help to deal with OCD in one child, or in several family members, the process will begin by discussing how each member is affected by the OCD. If only one family member is identified as the patient, and the other family members are hiding their feelings behind an assumed status as one of the “good” children in relationship to the “patient” or problem child, this unhealthy dynamic will first have to be exposed and unraveled.

That's because in family therapy, the entire family is the patient. Typically, the child with OCD will be the center of attention for the family. Other family members may feel unimportant or unseen in this kind of family because so much time and energy are taken up by the child with OCD. An effective family therapy process will stabilize this imbalance and teach everyone how to get their needs met while living with a child or sibling who has OCD.

Fears about Family Therapy

The hardest part of family therapy is getting everyone to participate. The therapy process is still unfamiliar to many parents and children, so they have a certain degree of fear about it. This unfamiliarity may lead them to avoid the process, even when dealing with the added stress of having OCD or another mental health disorder in the family.

One issue that causes this reluctance is privacy, or a misconception that family therapy may bring about the loss of a family's privacy. Therapists are highly trained professionals who have no interest in gossiping about families to other people. In fact, to guarantee such confidentiality, laws have been created that guarantee under most circumstances total confidentiality to clients in therapy, just as the priest in the church is granted confidentiality privileges under the law. If a therapist were to disclose confidential information, he could lose his license to practice psychotherapy and be sued in a court of law.

When Should a Family Seek Therapy?

Many families should seek help much sooner than the majority do. Just as many people wait to see a dentist until a toothache is too painful to handle, so, too, many people seek therapy after the pain of living with an emotional problem has become unbearable. If you have not stabilized your family dynamics on your own, seeking a family therapist is an appropriate course to take in order to find new solutions and new ideas to deal with the emotional strain that is present.