Family Services
Family Therapy
Family therapy can be a powerful way of helping families learn to resolve conflict and develop new family dynamics when the old way of being a family has been disrupted. Helping parents consider their child’s perspective can provide valuable insights into your children’s experiences and help families resolve their issues. Both parent’s consent is required to involve children in family therapy.
What to expect
Information is initially gathered from a short one hour intake meeting with each parent separately to gather information about your family, the children and the issues you want to resolve. The fist appointment will be either via phone or videoconference. After the parent's sessions, the children’s session will be arranged and specific information will be provided to help parents explain what their child can expect when they meet with the therapist. These meetings are child-led and children can choose to talk about anything they like. Family therapy can be a one off session or a series of sessions over a few months. The privacy and confidentiality of these sessions will be explained to the parents and children during your intake meeting.
Harmony Family Solutions specialises in relationship counselling and support. Sometimes we can feel overwhelmed by our situation, or we might need someone to listen as we navigate our way through a difficult situation. At Harmony Family Solutions, our clinical therapists will use strengths-based, person centred, evidence-based therapy to support clients experiencing challenging emotions or circumstances. We offer online counselling to people all over the country, and in person appointments are available for clients located in the Bendigo region.
What to expect
At the first appointment we will discuss your goals and whether you have any specific expectations from engaging in therapy. Appointments usually last for approximately 50 minutes and to make the most out of your appointment, you are asked to arrive either in the online room or office at least 5 minutes prior to your appointment. Clinical therapy at Harmony Family Solutions does not require you to have a mental health care plan and we do not offer a Medicare rebate. Our clinicians have experience working with children, families and individuals experiencing a range of stressors. Privacy and confidentiality is important, and we will sign a confidentiality prior to ending our first session together.
Counselling
Court Services
Family Reports
What to expect
Both parents will be involved in an initial intake meeting, generally conducted via phone or video link. This allows the report writer to get an understanding of the issues in dispute and to make sure that any potential risks are considered. If there are risk issues identified, report writer will make specific plans to ensure that everyone's safety is prioritised during the assessment.
Family reports include the children and the parent's attendance in person and the details of the location and timing of these interview and observations will be outlined in the first meeting. The report writer will read the Court file and interview both parents in person for approximately one to two hours. They will then meet with the children separately and if safe to do so, the report writer will conduct observations with the children and both parents.
It will take approximately four to six weeks for the report writer to finalise the report which will be sent to the Court for release to the parents and legal representatives.
Family reports are Court Ordered social science assessments that are prepared to assist the Court and the family when there are complicated unsolved issues or allegations of risk. Usually, the Court will outline the parameters of the Report and there will be a forensic approach to the assessment.
Child Impact Assessments
Child Impact Reports and Short form reports can support parents to identify and understand their children’s needs in the context of parental separation. Child Impact Reports and Short form reports can be helpful for parents who are trying to establish the most suitable parenting arrangements for their children post separation either via mediation or as part of early Family Law Court proceedings. In most cases, parents will be provided feedback about their children’s views and when there are no safety concerns, a collaborative approach to resolving the parenting dispute will be explored with both parents during the assessment process.
Our report writers employ a range of social science and mediation skills combined with a deep understanding of children alongside years' experience working with children and young people who are involved in Family Law proceedings.
What to expect
Each parent will separately attend a short, one hour interview either in person or via video call to discuss the issues that need to be resolved. We will discuss your children, their specific needs, the parenting arrangements and whether there are any risk factors that would impact the children safety and wellbeing. On a separate date that will be determined during the parents meeting, arrangements will be made for the report writer to meet with your children. Generally, school age children and above will be interviewed separately and if you have very young children, we may discuss conducting observations with your child and each parent. It is important for children to be aware that their parents will be informed of the information they divulge to the report writer and they don't have to talk about anything they do not feel comfortable discussing. The final stage of the child impact assessment Is an opportunity for each parent too receive some feedback in order to assist with resolution of the dispute. If there are areas of common ground, this will be discussed. Opportunities to resolve the dispute will be offered to both parents if appropriate. After this, a report will be prepared which will be sent to the Court or the mediator. The report will generally be between 10 and 15 pages long, and it will briefly describe the issues and explore opportunities to resolve the dispute.
Reportable Family Therapy
Court Ordered Family therapy can assist parents who are currently engaged in Family Law proceedings. Parents will gain insight into the impact of the parenting dispute on their children which is aimed at supporting families to resolve their issues. Both parent’s consent is required to involve children in family therapy.
What to expect
Information is initially gathered from a short one hour intake meeting with each parent separately to gather information about your family, the children and the issues you want to resolve. The fist appointment will be either via phone or videoconference. After the parent's sessions, the children’s session will be arranged and specific information will be provided to help parents explain what their child can expect when they meet with the therapist. These meetings are child-led and children can choose to talk about anything they like. Family therapy can be a one off session or a series of sessions over a few months. A report will be prepared at the conclusion of the intervention and provided to the Court or your mediator.