Services / Relationships and family
Family counselling
For families under strain, whatever the cause. Whoever can come, comes.
What family counselling is
Families rarely come because of one person. They come because something has shifted and the household has not caught up: a separation, a death, a diagnosis, a teenager who has gone quiet, a parent who has become unwell, or years of tension that nobody names out loud but everybody works around.
Family counselling puts that in a room with someone whose job is to see the whole thing rather than one side of it. What each person is carrying, what each is trying to protect, and where the household keeps getting stuck. Often it becomes clear early on that the person everyone identified as the problem is the one carrying the strain for everybody else.
Nobody is on trial, and nobody is being graded as a parent. The work is practical: what changes this week, who does what differently, and how the family talks about the thing it has been avoiding.
What it helps with
- Separation and divorce, and co-parenting afterwards
- Blended families and step-parenting
- A child or teenager whose behaviour has changed
- Grief and bereavement across a household
- Illness, disability or caring responsibilities
- Conflict between parents and adult children
- Cultural and generational differences inside one family
- Living with someone else's addiction or mental illness
Common questions
Does the whole family have to come?
No. Whoever can come, comes. Sessions might be the whole household one week, two people the next, and one person on their own after that. There is almost always someone who will not attend, and that does not stop the work, because changing how the rest of the family responds changes the household.
Are the children in the room?
Sometimes, and it depends on their age and on what is being discussed. Younger children are often better seen separately, with the parents doing the work about the parenting. Older children and teenagers frequently do want to be in the room, and being included is part of what helps. This gets decided with you rather than applied as a rule.
Are we going to be told we are bad parents?
No. Most families arrive already carrying that fear, and usually it is the reason they waited so long to call. Families come under strain for ordinary reasons: illness, money, grief, a separation, someone's addiction, a child who is struggling. The work is on what the family does next, not on grading how you have done so far.
What if one person refuses to come?
Start without them. It is very common, and it works more often than people expect, because a family is a set of interlocking responses. When two members stop doing their part of a pattern, the pattern cannot run in the same way. People who refuse at the start sometimes join once they can see it is not a hearing about them.
Is what I say in a session shared with the rest of the family?
What you say in an individual session is kept confidential from the other family members unless you authorise it to be shared. You decide what gets brought into a joint session and what does not. Where a child or young person is seen separately, what supports their safety and their parents' ability to help is discussed with you, and there are limits set by law where somebody is at risk of harm.
Can we do family sessions online?
Yes, and it solves a real problem for families spread across suburbs or states. Everyone can join from one room, or separately from wherever they are. In-person sessions are available in Bankstown if you would rather be together.
Can you provide a report or a letter for a family law matter?
Yes. Your therapist will prepare a letter for a family law matter if one is required. The cost depends on the report type and is discussed with you in your session.
What we can provide:
- A counselling progress report
- A factual summary of sessions attended
- Observations made during therapy
- Clinical impressions that fall within the therapist's qualifications and scope of practice
- Recommendations for ongoing counselling or interventions
- Information about your engagement, attendance and therapeutic progress
Is family counselling right if there is violence or fear in the household?
No. If there is violence, fear or intimidation in the family, a joint session is not the right place to start and we would ask you not to book one. Sitting in a joint session can leave the person at risk in a worse position afterwards.
If that is your situation, please call one of the numbers at the foot of this page first. 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 is the national family violence and sexual assault line and is open 24 hours. Then book an individual appointment, so we can work out the right support with you.
Who you'd be working with
Shuv Homsi
Lead Therapist · ACA-Registered Clinical Supervisor
Shuv works with individuals, couples and families on family dynamics, relationship therapy, substance use and emotional wellbeing. Where a child or teenager needs their own sessions alongside the family work, he will bring in Sophia or Aisha rather than stretch beyond what he does.
You will be allocated to the therapist who best meets your needs once you have booked. You do not have to work out who you need to see before you have spoken to anybody.
Related
Not sure if this is the right place to start?
Book an appointment and say what is going on at home. You do not have to work out what you need, or who you need to see, before you book.
Before you book: the form asks for a few details, including an emergency contact. If you do not have a diagnosis, writing "none" is a perfectly good answer. And if you are booking for someone else, say so in the "relationship to client" field and we will work it out from there. If there is a particular therapist you would like to see, put their name in the "Additional Information" box and we will take it into account.
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Are you in crisis?
- In an emergency, call 000
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- 1800RESPECT 1800 737 732
- Beyond Blue 1300 224 636
- Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467