Family and parent-child counselling

Why seek family counselling?
 

Families are complex and a source of difficulty across people’s lives. Members of families experience dilemmas, drama, and emotional pain owing to a multitude of factors. These include circumstances inherited at birth, accrued over time, or thrown at people unexpectedly. Families undergo changes, from sudden or anticipated losses to new situations posing stress and heightened emotions. Whether involving children, or among only adults, there may be disagreements, misunderstandings, separations, or tragedy. 

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Children pose their parents difficulties and vice versa. They struggle for connection, freedom, care, and control. Problems play out from cradle to care home, from schooling to (not) leaving home. In adulthood, estrangements may arise between family members, often accompanying other changes and losses. Idealised gatherings such as weddings can provoke complications. Marriages and childcare expose differences in values and culture. Tensions may build over responsibilities and power involving grandparents and in-laws.

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How does family counselling work?

 

Family counselling helps people to express and work through issues of co-existence, and to forge constructive ways of communicating and living. A therapist may help to mediate conflict and facilitate understanding. They may help a family to overcome collective loss or to brainstorm possibilities and supersede problems. Family counselling may involve parents and their children of any age and/or grandparents, siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles, in-laws, and persons involved in family life. The counselling may engage a whole family unit or only certain members. All persons who attend should want to be a part of the process.

 

Family counselling provides a space for all persons to speak, listen, be heard, and to heal. It engages the concerns and wishes of all parties and facilitates conversations that are often difficult to hold in everyday life. Family counselling helps people to express their side of a story in terms of how they feel. It teaches people to cease defensive criticism and accusatory language that impedes communication, thus enabling people to listen, forgive, and find common ground.

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Arrangements for sessions

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Each person (adult or teenager) will attend an initial individual assessment session on Zoom.  For younger children we may make a different arrangement for the initial contact.

 

If all parties agree that it will be helpful to continue to meet, further sessions will be held either face-to-face or by Zoom.

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Client group

 

Families, parents and children and / or teenagers

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Professional membership

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Our relationship counsellors are members of the BACP and / or COSCA.

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Fee per session

 

Initial appointment                -  From £15.00.  This will be held on Zoom.

Further appointments           -  From £25.00

 

 For larger families or parents on Universal Credit the fee can be negotiated.​​

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