In-Laws: Extended Family Therapy

Beneath the surface of the presenting issues that bring clients into therapy are often unresolved issues with the extended family, including lack of marital approval, in-law blaming (triangulation), family-of-origin loyalty issues, grudges, allocation of scarce resources, and undefined roles. Reframing these as “in-law problems,” therapists can guide families to normalize these issues, especially when they occur in conjunction with life cycle changes. A problem-oriented, short-term, in-law therapy model enables the therapist to offer useful tools to help clients heal and strengthen relationships with the extended family.