Generally marriage and family therapists focus on the present. They work to understand the problem as it exists now, and focus on solutions or actions which might help to resolve the problem. They may typically ask questions about family roles, patterns, rules, goals, and stages of development. They generally view the problems or issues brought to therapy in the context of the family. Marriage and family therapists are committed to improving outcomes and reducing hospital utilization and costs.
Consumers increasingly seek the services of marriage and family therapists.
According to a recent study published in American Psychologist, consumers said that marriage and family therapists are the mental health professionals they would most likely recommend to friends. One 1992 study found that first offenders who received family therapy after release from prison were twice as likely to be arrest-free a year later as those in a control group who received therapy. When other measures of recidivism are examined, such as hospitalization, family therapy also shows a higher success rate than alternative treatments. Studies have shown that marriage and family therapy has been successful in treating alcoholism, anorexia and other eating disorders, psychosomatic asthma, overly aggressive children, juvenile delinquency, and other problems. The use of marriage and family therapists has increased dramatically in recent years.