Families, as is the case with couples and individuals, are regularly confronted by life difficulties, and although most of the time they find a way of addressing these difficulties, there are times when outside help is required. It is often stated that when one member of a family is struggling, the whole family is affected.
Difficulties affecting families can include the loss of a family member through divorce or death, ill health, addiction, infidelity, trauma, unemployment broken down communication, or any other matter which disrupts the family relationships and dynamics and its constructive functioning.
The Family Counsellor facilitates the process of understanding and addressing the matters of concern. As this is a collaborative process between the counsellor and each different family, goals are set in the beginning and periodically revisited during sessions to ensure that all concerned are still on the right track. The counselling process addresses the matters at hand including the relationships, roles and responsibilities of different family members, communication and conflict management if applicable, problems solving skills, and coping emotionally. Families are seen as a group but provision is made for individual counselling of a family member if warranted.