Couples, Individual, Family, Single Parents, Adolescents and Trauma

 

What is Counselling?

Life can be stressful. Relationships can be stressful. Many people find themselves with anxious thoughts and worries. There are problems in relationships, difficulties at work, issues with children, conflict in marriages; all of which can lead to feelings of despair, disappointment and anger.

Family Life Centre provides a confidential service and a safe place where counsellors listen empathetically to clients, encouraging them to tell their stories and express their feelings.

 

Couple Counselling

This is for couples experiencing difficulties in their marriage or relationships. Couples counselling can also be used to enhance a marriage or relationship. The couple attends most of the sessions together, at times they have individual sessions.

Couple counselling assists couples to:

• improve communication
• clarify issues that are causing misunderstandings
• explore the realities of each others expectations
• gain insight into their own personality and needs
• improve their parenting skills
• focus on what is positive in the marriage or relationship
• learn to constructively resolve conflict
• gain insight and understanding of their partner

 

Individual Counselling

Anyone can attend counselling on his or her own to discuss a worrying issue. Individual counselling can also be for people who are experiencing problems in relationships.

Individual counselling means taking time to talk about you, your fears, needs and goals in life

 

Family Counselling

Families come together “to tell you our troubles and hope for the best” as described by an 8 year old girl.

All family members join with the counsellor and the family counselling team to share their family stories and to work out alternate stories for the family to consider. Everyone’s ideas and opinions are important and contribute to the family picture, which has its own unique patterns.

During the family session, a possibility may arise to introduce a new dimension to the patterns, and this is what will make the difference to achieve a new picture in the family.

 

Counselling for Single Parents

There is little or no preparation for being a single parent. The responsibility of parenting which may have once been shared becomes complicated when one has to make decisions and carry out parenting tasks on one’s own. A Single Parent may feel sad, angry, helpless, frustrated, despairing at the loss of a partner.

Questions which may arise in counselling:

• Do you have problems concerning the custody and access of your children?
• Do you have doubts concerning your ability as a parent?
• Do you think your child exhibits behavioural problems as a result of having experienced a divorce / death of a parent?
• Do you experience difficulty in coping with your finances?
• How well do you cope with stress? Can you handle a crisis?
• Would you like to improve your relationship with your ex-spouse and perhaps other ex-family members?
• How do you deal with the challenge of starting new relationships?

 

Counselling for Adolescents

Adolescents are encouraged to discuss their own personal difficulties and any family problems, which may be a concern to them. Adolescents may want to talk about feelings of loneliness, not being respected, not heard and misunderstood in the family, or they may want to discuss feelings of alienation caused by not belonging to a peer group or difficulties with friendships.

In separation / divorce / step families, adolescents sometimes ask themselves:

• What will happen to me?
• Will there be a place for me in the new family?
• How will I cope with step-parents?
• Who will be on my side?

 

Trauma De-Briefing and Trauma Counselling

Our mission is to help trauma survivors re-establish a sense of safety and predictability in their world.

Trauma de-briefing can be a two-step process:

First Step – De-briefing after the event.
Second Step – Talking about a trauma evokes painful feelings from the past and may lead to ongoing counselling to mover from victim to survivor.

Statements made during trauma de-briefing:

• “I am struggling to cope with the effects of a violent attack. I am angry all the time.”
• “People minimise what I am feeling.”
• “I feel so depressed. It’s as if I do not want to go on living.”
• “Why me? Goes round and round in my head.”

 

Structure of Counselling Sessions

Most interviews last one hour and take place once a week. Family sessions last longer and may take place twice a month.

Trauma de-briefing varies according to the situation and who attends.

There is a cost for all counselling sessions, which is discussed with the counsellor.

It is best to Phone The Family Life Centre to make an appointment.