About family therapy
Family therapy works with several members together to improve communication, resolve conflicts and support everyone through changes such as separations, illness or adolescence.
Therapist is the everyday word for a professional who offers talking therapy: depending on the country it can be a psychologist, a psychotherapist, a licensed counsellor, a marriage and family therapist or a clinical social worker. Profiles show each therapist’s actual title, training and registration.
Getting mental health care in French Polynesia
Public health system · Centre Hospitalier de la Polynésie française (CHPF) – psychiatry
French Polynesia runs its own health system. Public psychiatric care is provided by the adult psychiatry and child psychiatry services of the Centre Hospitalier de la Polynésie française in Pirae, Tahiti. More information
How to check that a professional is licensed
- Agence de régulation de l'action sanitaire et sociale (ARASS). Psychologists must register their diploma with the ARASS before they start practising in French Polynesia.
- ARASS and the Ordre des médecins. Doctors must register their diploma with the ARASS and the Tribunal de première instance de Papeete, and must be enrolled with the medical order. Specialties must be recognised by the order.
- Agence de régulation de l'action sanitaire et sociale (ARASS). Speech therapists (orthophonistes) and occupational therapists (ergothérapeutes) must register their diploma with the ARASS to practise.
Urgent help in French Polynesia
If your life or someone else's is in danger, call the emergency number now. These services can help at any time:
- 15 · SAMU
Information reviewed in November 2026 · Sources: chpf.pf, service-public.pf
Signs to look out for
Every family goes through tension. Family therapy may help when conflict is constant or very intense, communication has broken down, a child’s difficulties are straining everyone, members feel stuck in the same patterns, or the family is struggling to adapt to a change such as a separation, a new partner, illness, migration, a loss or a child leaving home.
What helps: treatments and professionals
Systemic family therapy looks at relationships and patterns rather than blaming one person. Approaches with evidence include structural and strategic family therapy, family-based treatment for adolescent eating disorders, multisystemic and functional family therapy for behaviour problems, and parent training. Family therapists, psychologists and social workers with systemic training usually lead the work, sometimes alongside individual therapy.
When to seek urgent help
If there is violence at home, a child or adult is being harmed, or someone is afraid for their safety, contact your local emergency services or specialised protection services. Safety comes before family therapy. Seek urgent help too if any family member talks about suicide, has harmed themselves seriously, or is at risk of harming others.
What you can do in the meantime
Set aside calm times to talk, and try to listen to understand rather than to reply. Agree on a few household rules together and keep them consistent. Avoid involving children in adult conflicts. Make room for enjoyable shared moments, even short ones. If tensions run high, take breaks before continuing a discussion. Each person looking after their own well-being also helps the family.
What does a therapist do?
A therapist helps you talk through what is worrying you and find practical ways to feel and cope better. In sessions they listen, ask questions, help you notice patterns in your thoughts, emotions and relationships, and agree goals with you. Depending on their training they may use cognitive-behavioural, humanistic, systemic, psychodynamic or other evidence-based approaches, with individuals, couples, families or groups.
When to see a therapist
It makes sense to look for a therapist when stress, anxiety, low mood, grief, relationship problems, a difficult change or the effects of past experiences start to weigh on your daily life, or when you simply want space to understand yourself better. If symptoms are severe, you may need medication or there are signs of a medical cause, involve your doctor or a psychiatrist as well.
How to choose
When choosing, check the licence and training, the approach they use and whether they have experience with what you need. Consider practical aspects too: language, price, location or online sessions and availability. The relationship with the professional matters a great deal; if after a few sessions it does not feel right, it is fine to change.
Frequently asked questions
Does the public health system in French Polynesia cover psychological care?
French Polynesia runs its own health system. Public psychiatric care is provided by the adult psychiatry and child psychiatry services of the Centre Hospitalier de la Polynésie française in Pirae, Tahiti.
How do I check that a therapist is licensed in French Polynesia?
Agence de régulation de l'action sanitaire et sociale (ARASS): Psychologists must register their diploma with the ARASS before they start practising in French Polynesia.