What is Family of Origin Work?

You may or might not be accustomed to the term “family of origin” because it pertains to therapy.  When it involves  understanding the way you function emotionally and/or in your relationships, it’s a very important term to get accustomed to.  Family or origin work is largely the technique of exploring your historical relational experiences to know the way you function.  As a therapist myself, this the best way I’d describe it in additional detail:

A spread of emotional and relational issues are connected to at least one’s family of origin experiences with parents, primary care-givers and/or families typically, in addition to past trauma.  Anxiety, depression, anger, fear and recurrent relationship problems are sometimes snarled in these unresolved issues. Our early experiences help shape the narratives we stock about ourselves, our “stories” or core beliefs about who we’re, whether we are able to safely depend on others, etc.  I never stop to be amazed by the ways people address adversity.  However, sometimes the survival adaptations that served them well then, often don’t proceed to accomplish that.

Examples of formative years challenges:

• Childhood trauma (physical, sexual or emotional abuse)
• Critical or harsh parenting styles in childhood
• Rejecting or dismissing parenting styles in childhood
• Living in a chaotic, fear-based environment in childhood
• Death or long run illness of a parent, sibling or other close relationship
• Witnessing a volatile, high-conflict relationship between parents
• More subtle boundary violations and codependencies

Therapists have their very own unique approaches to doing this sort of therapy – but my family of origin work with people involves an exploration of the past, understanding of how the past may need impacted you on emotional and relational level, identifying unhelpful core beliefs you will have developed about yourself, others and the world, then shifting these.  I educate people about how changing their pondering impacts their feelings and ultimately their behavior.  A take a look at the standard of attachment with parents or primary caregivers can be a part of the work.

People who feel “stuck” often report they’ve felt this fashion a protracted time.  Many come to therapy trying to know why they’re repeating unhealthy relationship patterns.  Or they’re fighting depression, anxiety, stress or other self-defeating pondering styles that result in self-defeating behaviors.   Some simply say, “something feels off.”  Often there may be little awareness initially that they’re still operating from old narratives.  Defense mechanisms to assist protect from early experiences of hopelessness, fear, anger or sadness could have served you then but not.  But even if you happen to haven’t been capable of make a connection,  you most likely have had a way that something isn’t working for you emotionally or in your relationships.  The article, Family of Origin Work: Is it Time to Start Digging takes a deeper dive into when you understand it’s time to begin looking more closely at this.

Here are a number of signs you would possibly profit from this sort of therapy work:

• You carry an underlying sense of not being adequate or feeling unlovable.
• You struggle with emotional dysregulation (easily angered, sad or afraid).
• You repeat unhealthy relationship patterns.
• You discover as perfectionistic.
• You struggle with addiction.
• You have trust issues that show up in your relationships.

There are alternative ways you possibly can address your loved ones of origin issues.

Talk therapy will be very productive.  This stays considered one of my most passionate areas of my therapy practice.  For individuals who successfully dig deep to know themselves in this fashion, process the emotions of their experiences, change the stories they’ve been carrying and heal themselves through it could actually see themselves, life and their relationships with an entire latest pair of eyes.  This is not any bandaid approach but has the potential for lifelong positive change.  There are other ways to go about this work.  Here is a wonderful piece on working through family of origin issues through a body-mind perspective.

I really like this work and truly enjoy helping people make these life changing shifts.  If you suspect you would possibly profit from it, many therapists work from this orientation, I wrote a digital guide called,  Family of Origin Work:  Untangle Your Healthy Roots,  to provide help to discover the problems, understand their source and work through them . (All digital products in The Toolbox store are being offered for 50% off now through the top of January in celebration of the vacations and New Year.  Enter the code G4FERDYU at checkout.)

For those with more complicated histories, unresolved trauma and pain, this guide may not be enough.  There are many therapists who do family of origin work and you could be best suited to start there. But lots of you’ll still give you the chance to make use of my guide as a start line, then bring your learnings to your latest therapist able to jump right in.

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