Toxic relationships can take many forms. Some involve physical harm, while others are cold or cruel, leaving you feeling battered. Often, toxicity can’t be resolved without a total commitment from both parties. The responsibility for the relationship shouldn’t fall on just one person. In families facing toxic dynamics, it is possible to rebuild healthy and productive relationships. If you live in Texas and want to address damaged relationships, consider family therapy in Houston.
At The Right Step Houston, our experienced and compassionate mental health clinicians can help improve family relationships. We address toxic habits and behaviors using evidence-based techniques that involve the whole family, fostering shared responsibility for positive change. Learn more about family therapy at The Right Step Houston by calling us at 1.844.768.0169.
What Are Toxic Behaviors?
Some actions and attitudes people fall back on in a relationship benefit no one and lead to dysfunctional dynamics. Do you or someone close to you exhibit any of these behaviors? Take a look at the list below:
- Physical abuse isn’t the only way to harm a partner or family member, but it is a brutally effective means of gaining control. If you are a victim of physical or sexual abuse, you face both physical and psychological danger.
- Belittling someone through sarcasm or direct insults erodes their self-esteem and sense of worth. Degradation is a form of control.
- Constantly criticizing everything someone does, even the most minor things, is exhausting and fills the victim with self-doubt, forcing them to walk on eggshells.
- Blaming the other person whenever something goes wrong shows an inability to admit mistakes and a willingness to throw them under the bus instead of taking responsibility. The victim feels guilty of things they didn’t do.
- Controlling behavior is abusive and can strip the victim of their sense of self and autonomy. If someone dictates what you do, who you talk to, what you eat or wear, or what you believe, it’s a toxic relationship.
- Gaslighting is a manipulative tactic that makes someone doubt their own experiences and memories, accusing them of overreacting or lying. It leads to a devastating loss of self-confidence.
Ignoring any of these behaviors is a red flag in itself.
Do You Need Family Therapy?
Consider your primary relationships within your family or friend group—for example, with a parent, child, sibling, or significant other. If those relationships do not make you feel valued, respected, and prioritized, how do they make you feel? Are you in a relationship (or more than one) in which:
- You feel unsafe physically or emotionally
- You are always on edge and walking on eggshells
- You are not respected, seen, or valued
- Your needs are never met
- You are being separated/isolated from other friends or family members
- You constantly take the blame for everything
- Your self-esteem is struggling to stay alive
If so, you can seek support and help in family therapy.
Rebuilding Family Dynamics with Family Therapy
In family therapy, the people in critical relationships with you, whether biological family, chosen family, or both, enter into a shared therapeutic relationship with a psychotherapist.
Together, you will explore conflict, dysfunction, or toxicity within and among relationships and follow guidelines that protect everyone’s safety to work on improving communication. That includes listening openly, being vulnerable when sharing, practicing compassion, and being honest with yourself and one another.
You’ll learn to recognize unhealthy patterns and acknowledge their effects on each person. The goal is stronger relationships and the ability to support and trust rather than tear down and fear.
Schedule an Appointment at The Right Step Houston Today for Family Therapy
Why wait? Let your quest for healing begin. Learn to mend toxic relationships, create healthy boundaries, and practice empathy. Call us at 1.844.768.0169 for questions or to learn more about our family therapy program. You can also submit this form. Individual healing requires ensuring that the key relationships in your life are also healthy. We can help.