An Evaluation of Family Therapy's Effectiveness in Mental Health

This report delves into the effectiveness of family therapy in addressing mental health challenges. It begins with an overview of family therapy, highlighting its role in improving communication, resolving conflicts, and fostering healthy family relationships. The report examines the benefits of family therapy in various psychological conditions, including stress, depression, and anxiety, emphasizing its potential to stabilize patients and improve treatment outcomes. The research aims to analyze the effectiveness of family therapy in maintaining mental health, outlining research objectives, questions, and the rationale for the study. The literature review covers the basic understanding of family therapy and mental health, its need in psychological issues, advantages and disadvantages, the role of psychotherapists, and ways to analyze its effectiveness. The report also outlines the research methodology, detailing the methods and techniques used to conduct the investigation and collect relevant data.

Discuss the effectiveness of family
therapy in a mental health

Chapter 1: Introduction
Overview of the research
Family therapy refers to a kind of psychological therapy in which a specific type of
counselling is delivered to people. It will provide support to family members in order to boost up
their communication as well as resolve their conflicts. However, it is essential to maintain proper
relation and healthy understanding between family members by solving their personal
misunderstanding accordingly. It includes the criterion of providing counselling of individuals
living in a family for overcoming with issues to acquire healthy relations again with each other.
This therapy can be only carried out by psychologist, clinical social worker or a licensed
therapist for wellbeing of people. It has been analysed that the technique of family therapy can
be consider as a short term approach often in which few or all the family member can participate.
Family therapy can be considered as an effective approach that is used in several psychological
conditions in order to make an individual wellbeing. It is necessary for people to gain family
therapy by a registered therapist having experience ad degree for doing so. Meanwhile, family is
therapy is known to be more effective in terms of solving conflicts among family to make entire
situation stable respectively. Family therapy is favourable to be used in terms of several mental
health problems including stress, depression, anxiety and many more. It will provide support to
avoid chance of occurring complications and make patient stable that impact positively on
treatment outcomes accordingly. This approach is beneficial to sort out the family issues and
conflicts to make all the family members happy and live in comfortable manner with each other.
In addition to this, family therapy play an important role in terms of improving troubled
relations with life partners, kids and other family members which helps to make life stable. It
includes the fact that mutual understanding and healthy relations are must for an individual to
remain tension free and stay happy. Basically, this method is helpful in respect of addressing
specified issues including financial or marital problems, issues among parents and kids or impact
of substance abuse or mental sickness on the family. It is observed that a person who has habit of
substance abuse and alcohol, they are responsible for developing unnecessarily issues in the
family and create environment of tress in house. It is necessary to focus on this situation
according to which appropriate therapy can be used to make healthy relationships. However, the
family therapy can be considered as more effective as well as efficient technique in respect of
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overcoming with stressful environment of family. It involves the use of family theory in terms of
number of psychological health problems for making patient stable. This therapy is supportive to
family members in order to cope if a relative has a serious mental health issue including
schizophrenia when patient is required to be considering their specific treatment plan of action
consisting medicines, one-on-one therapy or other treatment process to improve their condition.
In some cases, the people get addicted by drugs; alcohol etc. then family face several problems
and remain stressful all the time. Family therapy is efficient in such cases in which family can
attend family whereas patient of addition should gain residential treatment in terms of cope with
the entire situation. It will provide support to reduce the addiction problem and improve the
condition of family is that they can stay happy and healthy ahead.
Background of the research
In context of this research it is based on the aim of analysing effectiveness of family therapy in
terms of mental health problems. It includes the criterion of making an individual relived from
severe symptoms and stable which is supportive for professionals to conduct treatment activities
easily. Basically, the family therapy is a kind of counselling which helps to make people
understand about actual situation and remain calm. The calm and patience of an individual is
helpful for mental health practitioners to deliver appropriate care services for treating severe
psychological disorders to make them disease free. It consist the criterion of making an
individual wellbeing and stable by improving their mental stability which facilitate to reduce
severity of their condition. However, it is also favourable for psychologist to examine entire
condition and monitor them properly after providing treatment to gain information about actual
outcomes. It involves the benefit of family therapy that it is suitable in number of family
circumstances that are responsible for causing stress, grief, anger and conflict. Moreover, family
therapy is also suitable in terms of several mental health conditions such as schizophrenia,
depression, stress, anxiety etc. It is helpful for practitioner to gain cooperation from patient to
conduct clinical procedures of treatment more effectively.
In addition to this, the project will focus on basic understanding about family therapy and mental
health including relation between them. It includes information about different psychological
issues and benefits of family therapy for people. However, it will includes the evaluation of
needs of family therapy in terms of psychological problems and identify the advantages as well
as disadvantages of this therapy in context of overall health of people. This research will also
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consider the objective of determining the role of psychotherapist in respect of providing family
therapy. The analysis of effectiveness of family therapy in order to maintain mental health of
people is explained below.
Research aim
In context of this study, the research aim is ‘to analyse the effectiveness of family therapy
in respect of mental health’.
Research objectives
 To identify the basic understanding about family therapy and mental health.
 To examine the need of family therapy in context of psychological issues.
 To evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of family therapy for overall health of
people.
 To determine the role of psychotherapist for providing family therapy.
 To analyse the effectiveness of family therapy in order to maintain mental health
condition.
Research questions
 What is the basic understanding about family therapy and mental health?
 How to examine the need of family therapy in context of psychological issues?
 What are the advantages and disadvantages of family therapy for overall health of
people?
 How to determine the role of psychotherapist for providing family therapy?
 What are the ways to analyse the effectiveness of family therapy in order to maintain
mental health condition?
Rationale of the research
In context of this project, it has a rationale to evaluate the effectiveness of family therapy in
respect of mental health problems to gain evidence. It includes the fact that effective evidence in
regards of efficiency of family therapy is favourable to apply the same in several psychological
cases that are complicated which is suitable for patient wellness. However, it is important to
carry out study on the selected topic in order to investigate relevant facts and figures that helps to
gain appropriate findings. It will provide support to become sure about the limit of benefits
gained by implementing family therapy in clinical practice. It is also favourable to evaluate about
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family therapy in terms of its benefits regarding only solving family issues or suitable to apply
for treating mental health problems. It is helpful to gain evidence to utilise family therapy for
severe psychological problems.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Literature review can be described as a method through which a comprehensive summary can be
written on previous on similar topic. It includes the criterion of carry out an effective review of
information given by different authors with the help of gathering data from various research
articles, journals and books. Literature review has a purpose to gain foundation of knowledge
about specific research topic. However, it includes the procedure of enumerating, describing,
summarising, objectively evaluating and clarifying the pervious research in proper manner. It
will focus on the criterion of research objectives in order to address them including basic
understanding about family therapy in terms of overcoming mental health problems.
The basic understanding about family therapy and mental health
Family therapy can be defined as an effective method of counselling which is favourable to solve
family conflicts. It is helpful to use for cope with conflicts between life partners and children and
parents etc. Basically, it is beneficial to overcome with stressful environment of the family and
facilitate happy living of them. However, it is necessary to use the family therapy in terms of
solving family conflicts to develop mutual understanding. It has been analysed that family
therapy is responsible for boosting up recovery rate of patient suffering from mental health
problems. It is observed that family therapy is helpful in terms of reducing risk of occurring
complications among people facing psychological issues. Meanwhile, it is very important to
solve family conflicts to live with mutual understanding with each other. It is favourable to
maintain appropriate health condition with cooperation of one another that facilitate to have
happy as well as comfortable lives. It is observed many times that severe conflicts occur between
life partners then family therapy is much effective to remove the problems between them in order
to maintain peace in their lives. It is an appropriate approach through which family problems can
be solved easily which makes life easier. Moreover, family therapy pays an important role in
terms of making relations stable as well as healthy that facilitate to make happy family. It
involves that family members and specific individual can take part on this therapy to make
stressful environment easy.
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On the other hand, it has been analysed that family therapy is considered to be effective in terms
of solving several mental health problems. There are number of problem which can be sort out
with the help of implementing family therapy in which some of them are mentioned here.
Initially, it includes the couple relationships difficulties and behavioural difficulties in kids,
teenagers or adults. It includes the problem faced by parents that is parenting issues in terms of
dealing with their children. However, it involves the several problems such as anorexia, bulimia
and other eating disorders to overcome with the same. It consist the adoption and fostering along
with self-harm that can be solved among patient to maintain their appropriate mental health
condition. Moreover, it includes the problem of solving addiction and substance abuse including
alcohol, drugs and gambling in respect of making patients mentally stable. It involves the
psychological issues that are developed due to occurring changes in lifestyle, for instance one
parent working abroad. In addition to this, it has been analysed that domestic abuse cases may
acquire extreme level of complications sometimes and they face mental health problems. It
includes the stress, depression, anxiety, dementia etc. which are required to be treated in more
effective as well as efficient manner for making victim wellbeing. In this context, family therapy
plays an important role for eliminating the problems and make individual stable to cooperate
with healthcare providers that impact positively on relevant outcomes. Family therapy facilitates
to increase recovery rate of mental health issues.
The need of family therapy in context of psychological issues
The advantages and disadvantages of family therapy for overall health of people
The role of psychotherapist for providing family therapy
The ways to analyse the effectiveness of family therapy in order to maintain mental health
condition
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
Research methodology refers to asset of method and technique that are required to select in order
to conduct specific investigation properly. It includes the fact that utilisation of more effective as
well as efficient methods of carry out investigation for gaining appropriate findings. However, it
is necessary to analyse the given research problem of topic of the study and make decision of
using best suitable methods to make entire investigation reliable. It includes the use of such
methods & processes in respect of identifying, selecting, processing and analysing data relevant
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to the topic. The effective information can be collected accurately which facilitate to gain
findings in proper manner.
Types of investigation
The types of investigation include two categories such as qualitative and quantitative in which
specific one is required to select by researcher which is best suitable according to the selected
research topic. In context of this research qualitative research is used to conduct investigation in
order to gain accurate findings. It is suitable for this study because it will provide support to gain
an understanding of underlying reasons as well as motivations. It is favourable in respect to
uncover prevalent trends in opinion and thoughts respectively. However, it does not include the
use of statistical data and utilise for exploration of respondents’ experiences and life world.
Research design
Research design refers to an entire strategy which is selected in terms of integrating the various
elements of investigation in coherent as well as logical manner. It is an effective method through
which specific research problem or objectives can be addressed in more effective as well as
efficient manner. Basically, the research design can be divided in several parts such as
descriptive, experimental and exploratory from which appropriate one is required to select for the
study. The descriptive research design is suitable because it is helpful to describe the
characteristics of population or phenomenon which is required to be studies. It is best method to
analyse the effectiveness of family therapy in terms of mental health problems to gain
appropriate findings.
Research approach
Research approach can be explained as an effective method which is helpful to carry out
investigation in correct direction. It can be divided into inductive and deductive research
approach from which appropriate one is required to be opting for conducting this study in proper
manner. In respect of this research, it will use the inductive research approach that has an aim to
develop a theory as compared to other approach. It is suitable because inductive research
approach has reasoning moves from specific observations in order to broad generalisation.
However, it involves the pattern of first conducting observation in terms of observing the pattern
and develops a theory. It is observed that when there is a little to no existing literature on a topic
then it is commonly used method in order to perform inductive research because there is not
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theory to test. Moreover, this investigation is use inductive research approach because it is
beneficial because of its permission regarding flexibility. It will provide support to attend closely
to particular context and facilitate to develop new theory.
Research philosophy
Data collection method
The secondary sources of data collection are used to conduct literature reviews whereas primary
source of questionnaire will be focussed to carry out data analysis and interpretation of findings.
Data analysis
Sampling method
Time scale (GANTT chart)
Activity 2019 2020
May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
Choose Research Area
Preliminary Research
Decide research question &
methodology
Submit Research Proposal
Literature Review
Pilot Interviews
Main Interviews
Thematic analysis
Write Up
Proof Reading
Submit Dissertation
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Ethical consideration
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
Chapter 5: Discussion
Chapter 6: Conclusion & Recommendations
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