‘Focus on Families’ involves a family sensitive approach that is inclusive, understanding and respectful to families and significant others, including their social and cultural role. We believe a family sensitive approach ‘adds’ to the experience of clients and counsellors. Developing and sustaining family work within agencies requires skills and supportive organizational structures and policies to be put into practice. Whilst drawing on some of the more helpful ideas from family therapy, ‘Focus on Families’ should not be confused with family therapy, which is a clinical specialty distinct from this broader concept, and beyond the scope of this training program.
The Bouverie Centre’s ‘Focus on Families’ training is based on the premise that seeing families is one way to engage children, men and older people (currently under-represented in Community Health Counselling) and as a response to evidence indicating that involving families and significant others enhances positive counselling outcome.
The two-day workshop is designed for counsellors wanting to develop skills in family work. It is a practical course that enables participants to walk away with greater confidence to work with multiple people at the same time.
The workshop covers:
• useful family therapy concepts;
• use of genograms;
• how to engage more than one person or the family of individual clients, including who to invite to a session, when, and why;
• how to conduct a first session;
• how to deal with potential conflict and difference of opinions;
• how to conduct ongoing sessions;
• practical skills for dealing with blame, guilt, risk;
• how to look after yourself;
• practical application of new skills in role-plays, with options for coaching by facilitators; and
• discussion of opportunities to link up with colleagues in ongoing regional peer supervision groups.
The Focus on Families project report is available for download below.
A DVD containing interviews with the Bouverie Centre’s family therapists can be purchased from The Bouverie Centre. The following are some clips from the DVD:
