Family Therapy in Salt Lake City
One room, everyone in it, nobody on trial.
“One of us flat-out refuses to come.”
That’s common, and a first no isn’t the end of it. We can start with whoever’s willing and make the room feel safe enough that a reluctant person often comes around once they see they won’t be put on trial. No one is dragged in.
- The pattern changes, not the personFamily work treats what happens between people, so no one leaves the room cast as the problem.
- Nobody on trialThe room is built to feel safe enough that even a reluctant person often comes around once they see they won’t be blamed.
- It flexes as you goWho’s in the room can change month to month: whoever the work needs, when it needs them.
What the work looks like
Sometimes the one who needs the help is the family itself: the pattern between people, not anyone in it. I'm Sarah, a licensed clinical social worker in Salt Lake City, and this is the room for that: here's who comes, what sessions are like, and how family work sits alongside anyone's individual therapy.
When the family is the client
Sometimes the work isn't one person's; it's the pattern between people. Something shifted after a big change, or a kid is struggling and it's pulling the whole house sideways, or home has gone quiet in a way that's louder than any argument. In here, nobody's cast as the problem. The thing we're working on lives in the space between you, not inside any one of you.
Who comes to the room
Whoever the work needs. Sometimes that's the parents together, sometimes a parent and a teen, sometimes the whole household in one room. We decide the configuration together, and it can change as we go; the people who need to be there in month one aren't always the ones who need to be there in month three. When it's really one child's work at the center, play therapy is often the truer starting point, and we can begin there instead.
What sessions look like
Everyone gets heard: that comes first, because a family session where one person does all the talking doesn't change anything. From there we name the pattern out loud, in plain language rather than clinical terms, and we practice small changes between sessions. Not a personality transplant. One different move, tried on purpose, in the moment it usually goes sideways.
Alongside individual work
Family sessions sit comfortably next to individual therapy. If you're already working with me on your own, bringing someone into the room is something you can ask for whenever you want it, never a condition of anything, and never held against the individual work. It runs the other way too: family work can surface something one person wants to keep working on alone. Therapy for adults is the individual side of that.
You don’t have to sort this out on your own.
Book a free callor call (801) 513-3505 · Mon–Fri, 9 AM–6 PM MTThe research
What the evidence says
Reviews of the family-therapy evidence base, notably Alan Carr’s, find systemic and family approaches help with a wide range of both child- and adult-focused problems.
- Family therapy and systemic interventions for child-focused problems: The current evidence baseCarr, A. · Journal of Family Therapy · 2019
- Couple therapy, family therapy and systemic interventions for adult-focused problems: The current evidence baseCarr, A. · Journal of Family Therapy · 2019
From the journal
Your therapist
LCSW · Licensed in Utah · No. 13989909-3501
MSW · University of Utah
Verified on Psychology TodayQuestions clients ask
The things people ask first
Who comes to a family session?
Whoever the work needs: sometimes both parents, sometimes a parent and a teen, sometimes the whole household in one room. We decide the configuration together, and it can change as we go; the people who need to be there in month one aren't always the ones who need to be there in month three.
What if one of us doesn't want to come?
That's common, and a first no isn't the end of it. We can start with whoever's willing and make the room feel safe enough that a reluctant person often comes around once they see they won't be put on trial. No one is dragged in, and no one is cast as the problem.
How much does a family session cost?
Family sessions are 53 minutes and $150; individual sessions are $150. We can sort out fees and insurance on the free call, before anything is booked.
Can family therapy happen alongside individual therapy?
Often, yes, as long as everyone's roles and privacy are clear. Sometimes I hold the family work while another therapist supports one person individually; in other cases we decide one format is enough. We talk through who is responsible for what before the work overlaps, so no one is guessing about what gets shared.
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