Much of our life learning happens early in life, and is strongly influenced by the of viewpoints of our family members. Our parents and older siblings tend to play an especially important role in shaping our views later in life. Sometimes the life messages our families convey are incomplete, overly negative or fundamentally constricting. At times, individuals hold on to these self-limiting beliefs without even realizing they are doing so. Self-limiting beliefs and attitudes learned early on often complicate many adult issues such as:

• romantic relationships
• career
• financial attitudes
• self-confidence and self-esteem
• depression
• anxiety
• sexual issues
• anger management
• substance use     
• perfectionism

As psychodynamic therapy emphasizes, family issues can be so compelling that we feel the need to unconsciously play them out in our other close relationships. A daughter who complains of an angry, emotionally volatile father, for instance, oftentimes finds herself marrying the same type of man later on. Parents often unconsciously repeat certain patterns and behaviors of their own parents, both desirable and undesirable, and can find themselves stuck in a kind of repeating loop over generations.

When working either with individuals or entire families, the therapist brings a less biased third party perception to the situation. Issues which may seem impossibly complicated within the closed system of a family, may "open up" when working with a trained therapist. Individuals who have unknowingly inherited certain undesirable traits from parents and other early figures may find that a therapist offers a more detached, helpful viewpoint when discussing the issue. This allows the client to bring more awareness to his or her relationships and circumstances, and to make more informed life choices when challenging family issues rise to the surface.