Lessons Offered, Lessons Learned: Reflections on How Doing Family Therapy Can Affect Therapists

Only in working conjointly with couples and families do therapists literally witness clients struggling to improve their most intimate relationships. In writing this article, we realized that, in true systemic fashion, not only have many of our clients benefited from working with us, but also we have learned some invaluable lessons from them. Indeed, practicing couple and family therapy gives therapists many opportunities to learn about themselves, especially when it is done thoughtfully. In this article, we reflect on myriad ways in which couples and family therapy has affected each of us personally—as individuals, as partners, as parents, as adult children in our families of origin, and as educators.