A variety of issues and concerns can be covered in individual and family counselling. Even if the concerns focus on one person this usually affects everyone in the family. When an individual or family comes to counselling they can gain a greater understanding of the problems and find out how they can help. All family members are encouraged to give their ideas.

What kind of concerns?
Families come with a wide variety of concerns. These include:

• Parent-child communication difficulties
• Family crisis or change i.e. separation, a teenager leaving home, death, becoming a blended family
• Resolving conflicts
• Low self esteem
• Dealing with anger
• Relationships - including parenting and couple relationships
• Grief and loss
• Domestic Violence,Anger Management and physical assault
• Addictions, and eating disorders
• Learning to express feelings appropriately
• Sexual Assault
• Couple and marital issues

What happens?
Counselling is a supportive process where the counsellor and the family develop better outcomes for everyone involved. Sometimes it involves individual counselling with a parent or young person and at other times it will involve family counselling - seeing parents and adolescents, or others, separately or together.

When there has been separation of the young person from the family, it aims to bring about restoration or reconciliation, where this is acceptable and appropriate, or to find some other appropriate alternative.

The session usually lasts for about 1½ hours.

How often will families need to come?
This will vary. Sometimes one session is enough but more often between 3-8 sessions may be required.

What does it cost?

Fees are:
Unwaged or on benefits - $00
Waged (depending on means) - $30 to $80 per session

Note: No adolescent or their families living in the area is ever refused service because of inability to pay the fee.