Breaking Barriers: The Impact of Therapy on Failure to Launch
Failure to launch therapy helps young adults transition into independent adulthood. Learn more about FTL therapy here.
How Failure to Launch Therapy Helps Young Adults
Failure to launch (FLT), though not a diagnosable condition, can be defined as an inability to leave home and support oneself, regardless of the underlying cause.
Failure to launch therapy is a helpful program designed for young adults. FLT programs give adolescents a safe place to talk about what worries them, understand their feelings better, and learn important skills to deal with life’s ups and downs.
Here’s how it can help individuals overcome barriers:
Exploring Emotions
Therapy helps young adults analyze their emotions. This can:
- Make their feelings clearer
- Show them how these feelings can change how they act in different situations
- Help them see which behaviors might be holding them back
As they get to know themselves better, they can manage their emotions more practically. Emotional intelligence can lead to making better choices.
Learning Life Skills
Therapy provides young adults with essential tools to deal with the challenges of everyday life. Learning skills like solving problems, making positive decisions, and controlling emotions can greatly help young adults. By mastering these life skills, young adults can handle life’s challenges independently.
Therapy as a Safe Space for Supportive Dialogue
Therapy offers a safe space for young adults to talk about their worries and fears. They can:
- Share their thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment
- Understand themselves better
- Come up with ways to cope with problems
This open discussion can help young adults feel less alone and boost their mental health. Both of these factors are important for becoming independent.
Changing Behaviors through Therapy
Therapy can help young adults positively change their behaviors. It can help them:
- See and change unhealthy habits
- Become more substantial and better at managing stress
- Find a good balance in dealing with life’s hurdles
Making these changes helps young adults break out of unhelpful patterns and take on behaviors supporting their journey toward independence.
Effective Therapeutic Strategies for Addressing Failure to Launch Syndrome
Failure to launch syndrome can hinder young adults from building a successful foundation as they attempt to enter adulthood. Failure to launch therapy offers a variety of strategies to navigate these hurdles effectively.
Here are some approaches that have proven successful:
Individual Counseling
Individual counseling provides personal guidance through the journey to adulthood. In these one-on-one sessions, therapists help pinpoint the reasons behind the reluctance to mature and develop a custom action plan.
Here’s how this strategy is beneficial:
- Creates a safe space for self-expression
- Addresses personal issues contributing to the syndrome
- Breaks down overwhelming tasks into manageable steps
Family Therapy
Family therapy helps everyone involved understand their role in the situation. It’s not just the young adult affected by failure to launch syndrome; family dynamics can also contribute to the problem.
Some advantages of family therapy are:
- Helping the family understand their influence on the young adult
- Working on forming balanced and healthy relationships
- Encouraging open conversation about responsibilities
A literature review shows that family therapy is effective for many issues, like recovery from child neglect and behavioral conditions.
It can be a valuable part of failure to launch therapy, helping young adults and their families tackle the challenges of failure to launch syndrome together.1
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
CBT is a hands-on approach that addresses harmful thought patterns and behaviors. Teaching young adults to view their situation differently fosters problem-solving skills and promotes personal growth.
This strategy opens the door to these benefits:
- Challenges negative thought patterns
- Promotes a growth mindset and problem-solving abilities
- Enhances self-efficacy and confidence
Exploratory Therapy
This type of therapy focuses on self-reflection and understanding. By examining past patterns and how they impact present behavior, young adults can gain insights into their situation and how to move forward.
These are the positive outcomes you can expect from this method:
- Provides non-judgmental support for self-discovery
- Enables individuals to identify and change harmful patterns
- Builds self-esteem and self-compassion
Understanding the Unique Approach of Failure to Launch Therapy
When it comes to supporting young adults who struggle with transitioning into adulthood, failure to launch therapy has a unique approach.
Unlike therapy for other psychological conditions, it’s specifically designed to address the hurdles that keep young adults from being independent.
Some unique features of failure to launch therapy include:
Tackling Transition Challenges
The main thing that sets this therapy apart is that it focuses on helping young adults deal with the specific challenges of moving from a kid to an adult.
This can include:
- Learning new skills to handle the tasks and responsibilities of adulthood
- Building confidence in their ability to take care of themselves
- Overcoming fears and doubts about becoming an adult
Focus on Family Involvement
Another standout feature of this therapy is that it usually includes the young adult’s family. This approach is essential because family dynamics can greatly influence young adults’ issues.
For example, studies show that young adults are more likely to own their homes if they grew up in a good home environment. On the other hand, young women with fewer resources often live in lower-quality homes if their parents are separated or divorced.2
This therapy teaches families how to help their young adult members live independently. It helps families:
- Understand how they can unknowingly contribute to their loved one’s struggles
- Set rules and limitations that motivate growth
- Learn the best ways to support their loved one in becoming independent
Emphasis on Life Skills Development
Failure to launch therapy puts a lot of focus on learning life skills. Unlike some types of therapy that mainly talk about feelings and thoughts, this one actively teaches skills like:
- Problem-solving and decision-making
- Managing emotions in a healthy way
- Balancing work, play, and rest for a good life
How Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT) Supports Failure to Launch Therapy
This therapy can be a real game changer for young adults feeling stuck, and Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) often plays a big part in it.
CBT is a therapy that supports individuals in changing negative thinking patterns, acquiring problem-solving skills, and building self-belief.
Some ways that CBT can help with FTL include:
Shifting Negative Thought Patterns
One of the significant ways CBT helps in failure to launch therapy is by working on the negative thoughts that might be holding young adults back.
CBT tackles negative thinking by:
CBT can help individuals with FTL develop positive thinking practices by teaching the skills needed for:
- Identifying and challenging unhelpful thoughts
- Testing the reality of negative thoughts
- Guiding the replacement of negative thoughts with positive and useful ones
Replacing Pessimism with Positive Outlook
Failure to launch syndrome often comes with a pessimistic view of the future, a trait also common in major depressive disorder (MDD).
CBT, a well-researched treatment approach for depression, can significantly benefit young adults with this syndrome.
CBT can help young adults with FTL syndrome think about their future more quickly and positively, replacing pessimistic views with optimism.
Learning Problem-Solving Skills
Some individuals may struggle to find solutions to challenges in their lives. CBT equips young adults with practical problem-solving skills, such as:
- Breaking down overwhelming problems into smaller parts
- Tackling these smaller parts one at a time
- Making sensible decisions in addressing these parts
Enhancing Self-Belief (Self-Efficacy)
One of the powerful ways CBT supports this therapy is by boosting individuals’ self-belief or ‘self-efficacy.’ CBT can achieve this by:3
- Helping set and achieve realistic goals
- Encouraging young adults to take pride in their accomplishments
- Bolstering their belief that they can do what they set out to do
Simple Steps and Activities in Failure to Launch Therapy
In this therapy, specific steps and activities help young adults boost their self-confidence, handle difficult situations, and gain self-awareness. These activities provide the necessary tools to overcome obstacles and achieve independence.
Here are some examples of strategies failure to launch therapy offers:
Boosting Self-Esteem
A significant part of this therapy is improving how a person thinks about themselves. Here’s how it can be done:
- Positive Self-Talk: Individuals practice saying good things about themselves and repeat these phrases to boost their self-esteem and confidence.
- Discovering Personal Strengths: Young adults work on finding out what they’re good at and what they enjoy. This helps to build a positive image of themselves.
- Success Diary: Young adults keep a diary to note down all the good things they do or any success they achieve. Success diaries can make them feel good and motivate them to continue working toward their goals.
Learning to Handle Tough Situations
Failure to launch therapy also helps young adults learn how to deal with challenging times. Here are some methods incorporated into this therapy:
- Relaxation Exercises: Young adults learn and practice calming exercises like deep breathing and muscle relaxation to help manage stress and worry.
- Emotional Management: A study found emotional intelligence is linked to career-related outcomes. For instance, understanding emotions can make young adults flexible, confident, earn more, like their work, and think about starting a business.4
- Problem-Solving: Individuals learn to look at problems, create positive solutions, and make good decisions when things get tough.
Growing and Learning About Themselves
Another key goal of this therapy is to help young adults grow and learn more about themselves. Here are some specific activities:
- Setting Goals: Young adults make realistic short and long-term goals to give them a sense of purpose and direction.
- Writing Down Thoughts: Participants write about their thoughts, feelings, and experiences to help them understand themselves better.
- Trying New Things: Individuals try out new experiences or hobbies to learn more about what they like and are good at.
Working Together in Failure to Launch Therapy
In this therapy, the therapists often team up with other specialists, like job counselors or school experts, to deal with job or school problems that might stop young adults from becoming independent.
Here are some challenges healthcare professionals address in their treatment:
Tackling Job Problems
Therapists and job counselors help young adults deal with job problems. They might:
- Find out what they like and what they’re good at to help them choose a career
- Advise looking at different job or school options
- Help young adults learn how to find a job, how to write a resume, and how to do well in an interview
- Help young adults make job goals and plans on how to reach them
Addressing School Problems
Therapists also work with school experts to deal with any school problems that might make it hard for young adults to become independent. They might:
- Check if there are any learning challenges or disabilities and find ways to help
- Teach good study habits and how to manage their time
- Set school goals and plans on how to reach them
- Work with schools to make sure they get the help they need
Our Approach to Failure to Launch Therapy at Choice House
At Choice House, we’ve established a long-term recovery program specifically made for young adult men. Our program specializes in failure to launch syndrome, a condition where young adults face challenges transitioning into independent living.
Our program includes top-of-the-line outdoor activities, and we believe in supporting the individual and the whole family system in the healing process. We maintain high-quality care, validated by our JCAHO certification, and offer a 1:1 staff-to-client ratio.
What We Offer in Our Failure to Launch Program
We offer a range of services in our program, such as:
- Regular weekly and monthly events
- Daily opportunities for past clients to engage with current ones through mentorship and shared experiences
- Regular get-togethers, like summer barbecues and catered meals in winter
- Special trips to fun places around Boulder, Colorado, such as skiing
- Regular calls after leaving our program to check on progress and collect helpful data
- Monthly online calls for families, led by our Chief Clinical Officer
- Wilderness adventure therapy
Levels of Care in Our Failure to Launch Program
We believe in focusing on past trauma and treating dual-diagnosis disorders using hands-on outdoor therapy and involving the family.
To cater to everyone’s needs, we offer different levels of care, including:
- Full-time residential treatment
- Day treatment programs
- Intense, part-time programs
- Regular outpatient drug programs
- Sober living houses
- Follow-up care
Reach Out to Choice House Today
Choice House cares about your journey and is here to help you. Learn more about our failure to launch therapy program by contacting us today.