Counselling

Counselling

Counselling is a personal and confidential therapy process designed to assist individuals, couples, or families make the changes in their lives for which they seek counselling services. Counsellors are professional with relevant academic degrees, training, and experience.

Marital

Marital counselling is the engagement of both husband and wife in the process of counselling to determine the viability of their relationship, and the direction of healing or enhancing the relationship. Some of the more common issues addressed are problems in communication, emotional or sexual intimacy, and decision-making concerning domestic issues.

Parenting

This counselling focuses on interaction of children and teenagers with their parents. Counselling does not require that the children be present during the sessions. The focus is on the parents and their methods of dealing with their child. Some of the more common issues addressed through parenting counselling include: discipline versus punishment, dealing with "acting out" or coercive behaviours, delinquent behaviours, loneliness and peer group problems.

Family

Family counselling involves both the parents and children in the counselling process. The focus is on the interaction between members of the family, and how this enables or inhibits changes in growth in the individual members of the family. Some common issues addressed include blended family issues, divorce or marriage adjustment, and sibling conflict. Two specialized services funded by the Ministry of Social Services for family counsellors are Rapid Intervention for Family Treatment (RIFT) and Resolving Adolescent-Parent Strife (RAPS).

Separation and Divorce

The Agency is committed to the philosophical position of the Catholic Church regarding the sanctity of marriage and the importance of the family. However, in situations where there is "irretrievable breakdown" in the marriage, it is the response of the Agency to assist these families to adjust and respond to the changes in a positive and constructive manner.

Individual

Individual counselling involves a person's request for assistance to discuss a variety of issues in his or her life. Some issues addressed include: depressive and anxiety states, confusion about life circumstances, transitional crisis in adulthood, difficulty in making decisions, marital crisis with a resistant spouse who is not interested in pursuing counselling, and self-esteem and self-worth issues.

Educational and Counselling Groups

In recent years, counselling staff has identified certain groups of clients, issues or problem areas that might be better addressed through a series of educational groups or the provision of time-limited group counselling programs. Some examples include groups relating to: children of separating and/ or divorcing parents, and developmental groups for adolescents.