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Welcome to

The Family Life Centre

The Family Life Centre has been providing professional support to individuals, families and communities since 1949. Our goal has evolved from strengthening marriages to building and maintaining healthy, stable relationships for all through a range of services and programmes.


The services we offer include: counselling, divorce mediation, training for health professionals, play therapy and support groups.


Our services are designed to develop the following skills and outcomes:

  • Manage their lives

  • Enrich their relationships

  • Contribute towards developing their communities and ultimately, society.

About Us

History

David Murray, the director of the Social Affairs Department in the Johannesburg City Council was a visionary of his time, he recognised the
need for preventive and remedial services, so set about establishing a
marriage guidance service. In 1949 the council made a small grant to fund the
Johannesburg Marriage Guidance Society.

 

Several years later, the  Johannesburg Marriage Guidance Society amalgamated with the Youth Advice Bureau and the name was changed to The Family Life Centre in 1979. There have been many incredible people who have helped to develop and build the organisation into a resource for anyone looking for assistance with mental health, support and mediation.

 

The centre has always placed emphasis on continuously developing the knowledge and skills of their counselling staff. From the early 1950s, experts in the fields of Psychotherapy, Family therapy and even Anthropology were invited to give talks and trainings at the centre to improve the knowledge base of all staff.

 

This practice continues today with in-service trainings every month and other opportunities for skills development in the field of counselling, social work and divorce mediation.


The Family Life Centre has always reached out to communities outside of
Parkwood, we have offices in Lenasia, Diepsloot, Westbury, Soweto and

Alexandra. These communities have a great need for affordable counselling
services in their area and we work with other organisations to ensure that
these services are made available.

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Since it's inception in 1949, The Family Life Centre has always offered the public several professional counselling and therapeutic services which are offered at a reduced cost compared to the amount charged by private practitioners. This is possible because we are a NGO and receive funding from various sectors of our society which includes Government and Private Donor Funding. The Family Life Centre is fully committed to the belief that everyone is entitled to professional services at affordable rates. All of our counsellors are highly educated and experienced social workers and psychologists.

Mission

To provide a one-stop family centre where every member of the family will be
supported and empowered through utilising one or more of the services that
The Family Life Centre offers. Our mission is to promote and maintain stable,
satisfying relationships within individuals, families and community life for all
people in South Africa.

 

We aim to preserve and build healthy families and relationships by offering
appropriate therapeutic or educative interventions to individuals, families,
groups and communities thereby increasing emotional and relationship
health, self-sufficiency and independence.

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