Objective: The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education and the Residency Review Committee for psychiatry outline the expected competencies for residents. These competencies include working with families. This article describes barriers that residents face when working with families, and offers ways to overcome these barriers. Method: In 23 years of combined experience teaching family therapy to psychiatry residents, the authors have identified typical barriers that residents face when beginning to work with families. Results: Six clinical vignettes, with the resident's concerns, the supervisor's intervention and the resident's response, illustrate these barriers. Conclusions: In order for residents to become skilled in working with families, barriers should be made explicit and ways of overcoming these barriers should be discussed clearly with residents.