When something overwhelming happens to one person in a family, everyone feels it. A car accident, a death, a serious illness, community violence or a move across the world can leave parents exhausted, children acting out, and siblings pulling away. Family trauma therapy helps the whole family understand what is happening, feel safe with each other again, and heal together rather than alone.  While they process their traumas together, they are not privy to each other’s traumas.

Is family trauma therapy right for you?

Family work can help when:

• Several family members went through the same event, such as an accident, loss, disaster or violence
• One member’s trauma is straining everyone’s relationships
• A child’s behavior has changed and parents aren’t sure how to respond
• Conflict, blame or silence has replaced connection at home
• The family has been through migration, displacement or cultural upheaval

What to expect

1. Assessment. We look at how the trauma has affected each person and the family as a whole.
2. Safety and shared goals. We establish emotional and physical safety and agree on what the family wants to change.
3. Understanding reactions. Everyone learns, in age-appropriate language, why trauma changes behavior and feelings, which often reduces blame.
4. Building family skills. We strengthen communication, co-regulation, self-regulation, setting boundaries and nurturing caregiving.
5. Processing together. We work through the shared experience at a manageable pace
6. Repair and planning. We repair bonds, build on the family’s strengths, and make a plan for handling triggers and setbacks.

Dr. Hourmanesh may combine family sessions with individual sessions for a parent or child when that serves the family. Family sessions are 55 minutes and $250 (→ Fees & Policies). Intensive 90 min sessions are at times advised.

Approaches we use

• Group EMDR protocols: the Group Traumatic Episode Protocol (GTEP), its adaptation for children (C-GTEP), and the Integrative Group Treatment Protocol (IGTP), group sand trays and play therapy activities, which let family members process shared events or personal events side by side (→ blog: The Proven Benefits of Group EMDR for Families)
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)
• Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP)
• Sand tray therapy, which lets family members externalize their internal experiences when words are hard or not enough (→ Sand Tray)
• Play therapy and Theraplay-informed activities to rebuild connection and/or strengthen relationships between parents and young children (→ Play Therapy, Parenting)

Why work with Dr. Hourmanesh

Dr. Hourmanesh is a licensed psychologist in Utah, EMDRIA Approved Consultant, Certified EMDR Therapist, training in Group Trauma Protocols used with families, Registered Play Therapist-Supervisor, and Certified Sand Tray Therapist. She works with families in English and Farsi and understands the added stress that migration and cultural transition can place on family life (→ About).

Frequently asked questions

Does the whole family need to attend every session? No. Some sessions include everyone; others focus on parents, a parent and child, or siblings, depending on the goals.

How young can children be? Young children can take part through play-based activities.

What if only one person in the family experienced the trauma? Family work can still help, because trauma changes how everyone relates. Individual therapy may be recommended alongside it (→ Individual Trauma Therapy).

Do you offer family therapy in Farsi? Yes. Sessions can be held in Farsi, English, or a mix of both.

Heal together. Request a family appointment online or call (801) 441-8943.