What kind of therapy helps with family and parenting?

There's no single right answer, but some approaches come up more than others. Here's what they actually involve, in plain language.

• Emotionally Focused Therapy

  For couples, mostly. Focuses on the cycle two people get stuck in rather than who is right.

• Family Systems Therapy

  Looks at the whole family as the thing to work with, not one person who needs fixing.

• Dialectical Behavior Therapy

  Skills-focused. Built around concrete tools for riding out intense emotions without things escalating.

• Internal Family Systems

  Treats the conflicting parts of you as worth listening to rather than fixing. Reflective rather than task-based.