5 Ways to Healthier Family Communication
Despite today’s busy world’s challenges, relationships with our family remain the most important ones, and the healthier and more honest the communication patterns are, the more supported we feel. Moreover, the more effective our communication skills are, the more we can express our feelings, particularly when we are feeling concerned, stressed, upset, or when we find ourselves disagreeing with a family member. The process of fostering healthy family communication is a continuous one which requires commitment and consistency. The following are practices that can significantly improve our family communication skills:
1. Be an active listener.
Active listening is not just hearing the words, but it’s about truly listening and engaging with your family by giving the speaker your full attention. To be able to listen actively, one needs to be present, empathic, authentic and thoughtful. When active listening is present, trust and connections in your family life are deeper, and it is more likely for the person to feel seen, heard, and valued. This leads to an open, honest dialogue where everyone’s thoughts and feelings are respected and taken seriously.
2. Communicate healthily.
You need to be as clear and concise as possible when expressing your thoughts and feelings. This paves the way to effective communication, reducing misunderstandings and confusion and making it easier for family members to feel heard and understood. To practice clear and concise communication, you need to know what you want to say in advance to stay on topic, be specific and direct to eliminate ambiguity and check with your family members to make sure they understand what you’re saying.
3. Express positive feedback.
You need to express positive feedback in the family that is also authentic and reflects genuine appreciation. Ideally, you express gratitude regularly and be specific about what you appreciate. The language used needs to be sincere and positive, acknowledging efforts and improvements, not just successes. Achievements should also be celebrated together, and feedback should be provided at the moment for greater impact.
4. Meet and get together regularly.
You can structure these meetings by discussing specific issues, plans, and decisions. At the same time, you can be informal, focus on bonding and enjoyment, and ensure that they are flexible enough to allow everyone to express their views. Where get-togethers are concerned, these strengthen emotional connections and unity. Both family meetings and get-togethers provide functional communication whilst serving to build relationships with the aim of creating a balanced family dynamic and cohesive environment.
5. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Sometimes, the above practices do not yield the desired outcome as communication breakdowns persist, conflicts intensify, or the family experiences significant life events. This might be the right time to consider family therapy sessions, where the provision of a space and neutral place enables parents and children to express their feelings and concerns without fear of judgment or criticism. By identifying underlying issues, a person can become more empathic and understanding and learn effective communication skills.
If you think that you can benefit from professional support on this issue you can reach out here.
Johanna Cutajar is a Master in Counselling graduate from the University of Malta. She works with children and adolescents as a counsellor within the education sector on a variety of issues including relationship issues, trauma, bereavement, transitions, and general mental health.
References
Ellingwood, J. (2024). 10 Healthy Family Communication Skills and How to Implement Them. Retrieved from https://www.healthychildren.org/English/family-life/family-dynamics/communication-discipline/Pages/Improving-Family-Communications.aspx
