Child and parent counselling
We provide counselling for children and teenagers, and their parents / carers, to strengthen relationships and wellbeing.
These sessions provide a safe and supportive space for you and your child to understand your situation, explore your options, and make positive changes.
Our service supports parents and their children with a range of topics, including:
- navigating parent separation and divorce
- communication
- grief and loss
- life changes
- managing stress
- managing emotions, such as anger
- family transitions such as forming a new family / step-family.
How do I get started?
Our Kew Centre is currently welcoming a limited number of new bookings for child and parent/carer counselling sessions. To learn more or book an appointment, talk to one of our friendly staff:
- Phone (03) 9261 8700
- Email kew@rav.org.au
Please note: We are not a crisis service. If you feel unsafe and need help right now, call the Police on 000 (triple zero). If you need immediate or 24/7 crisis support, please contact one of these external services.
Frequently asked questions
In general, the information you provide during counselling cannot be shared with anyone outside Relationships Australia Victoria (RAV) without your permission/consent. There are some exceptions, however, related to child safety, harm, serious or criminal acts, violence and subpoenas. More information is available on our Counselling Information Statement or please talk to your practitioner.
We provide child and parent/carer counselling in-person at our Kew Centre, and in some circumstances can provide this service remotely through telephone and video appointments. Please contact our Kew Centre for more information.
Counselling appointments usually last for 50 minutes.
When you first contact us, we’ll ask you about your situation and needs to assess whether child and parenting counselling is the right service for you. If it is, we’ll give you more information about our this service and the availability of appointments.
Across most of our counselling programs, we offer short-to-medium term support. This means that over a 12-month period, we can usually provide up to 20 appointments. How many appointments you have will depend on your situation. While some concerns can be resolved in one or two appointments, others take longer.
If you need further support beyond 20 appointments, we will support you with appropriate referrals to other services.
We are a not-for-profit, community organisation and our counselling services are only partly government funded, so fees are normally charged. However, we do try to make our services as affordable as possible. Fees are charged based on your income, and we will talk to you about fees payable when you contact us. If you are experiencing financial difficulties, please talk to us about payment options.
No, you don’t need a referral to access our child and parenting counselling service. You can contact our Kew Centre directly to make an appointment.
We require at least 24 hours’ notice for cancelling appointments. If you don’t notify us within this time frame, a fee may be applicable. If you need to cancel an appointment, please contact the centre as soon as possible.