family therapy

American  

noun

1. the psychotherapeutic treatment of more than one member of a family simultaneously at the same session, based on the assumption that problems can best be understood and corrected by observing the interaction of family members and identifying methods for improving their interrelationships.

---

family therapy British  

noun

1. a form of psychotherapy in which the members of a family participate, with the aim of improving communications between them and the ways in which they relate to each other

---

Etymology

Origin of family therapy

First recorded in 1975–80

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

family therapy

Adopted children who have been moved first into foster care, and then into an adoptive family, struggle to feel safe, says Emma, and the family therapy was aimed at addressing that.

From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2025

Larry Barlow, assistant professor of marriage and family therapy at Capella University, recounts a personal episode that brought him and his wife up short.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 23, 2025

“We’re going through family therapy, and that’s what this should be, a family matter,” he said.

From Seattle Times ● Apr. 15, 2024

We went into family therapy together for a little while; we really just started engaging with each other with a lot more transparency and directness and honesty.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 25, 2023

She still isn’t sure if she’s ready, even after months of family therapy and one-on-one therapy and talks with Claire and Joaquin and Grace—but it’s her mother.

From "Far from the Tree" by Robin Benway