- The Key to Healthy Family Relationships
Healthy relationships are important to a family's overall health and well-being. Activities, school, work and a myriad of other responsibilities often compete for family time, and time, along with effective communication, are important factors in building and sustaining healthy family relationships.
"A phrase came out years ago, mostly likely coined by people who didn't, wouldn't or couldn't spend much time with their kids-‘It's not the quantity of time that's important but the quality of time,' " noted John Rislove, director of behavior health at Winona Health. "Quality time is good. However, the quantity of time families spend together in everyday activities or communication is important - especially to kids."
In addition, how family members communicate is vitally important. According to Rislove, healthy families:
- Are comfortable saying how they feel and what they need.
- Show understanding and compassion toward one another.
- Listen with interest, and without interrupting, to better understand the other person's point of view.
"In healthy families, most disagreements are productive and issues are resolved," Rislove added. Rislove encourages families to make time to be together and to really listen to each other. The healthy relationships and habits that develop may benefit the whole family for generations to come.
Signs that your family could benefit from talking with a qualified counselor:
- The same arguments keep being played over and over and are almost never resolved.
- One or more family members have seemed to stop listening or have "tuned out."
- One or more family members exhibit physically or emotionally abusive or threatening behavior.
- One or more family member is afraid of another.
- One or more family members have stopped communicating all together.
To schedule a confidential appointment with a counselor at Winona Health Psychiatric & Counseling Services, call 507.454.2606.