GET TO KNOW A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT OUR
Professional Practice
Individual Counselling
Once you have booked an individual session with Foundational Care you will be emailed a consent form to fill out before coming to session. If you are not able to fill it out prior coming to therapy please arrive a few minutes earlier to complete a paper intake form so it does not intrude upon your counselling time. You can find a copy of our privacy policy here if you would like to know more about your confidentiality.
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In the sessions you are not obligated to answer any of the questions if you do not feel comfortable and are free to leave at any point in time if you do not wish to continue therapy with Foundational Care. Please note that we are not an after hours counselling service and if you do need immediate support you can contact one of the helplines on our resources page.
Under 18 years old
Clinicians at Foundational Care are able to see children and adolescence under the age of 18 with written consent from both parental guardians. Unfortunately until we have received signed consent forms from both parents, we are unable to begin the counselling relationship.
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All Foundational Care staff have current Working With Children Check (WWCC) certificates. Parental involvement in the therapy sessions depends on a variety of factors one of them mostly focused on age and developmental stage. Generally, children’s therapy works best when the therapist and parents work together. However, there may be some limitations to the specific information that you’re privy to. If the child is primary school age or under Foundational Care not only incudes client during the consultation but also those impacted by the challenging behaviour (parents, relatives, carers etc.). In doing this we are able to bring a greater understanding to the situation and a better chance at supporting the child holistically.
As the child gets older, the doubts children have about the confidentiality of consultation have can serve as a barrier preventing their use of health services. They are more likely to access services where confidentiality is preserved and where young people's rights are respected. It is often beneficial for them to spend some solo time with the counsellor at some stage, but only if and when the child and family feel comfortable with this. If the child or young adult spends time with the counsellor they are offered the same therapeutic considerations in regards to confidentiality as all other clients. Information will only shared with the parents if the counsellor has permission from the client (of course there are still some exceptions such as if there is a significant risk of harm that the counsellor is concerned about).
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A certain level of confidentially is required in order to make the client feel safe and build an environment where they are willing to trust and share in the therapeutic relationship. Please be assured that we are happy to provide parents with general feedback and treatment focus as we aim to keep the parents involved in the therapeutic process. We believe that it is important to share information with parents to help them understand the work children are doing in counselling and to any ways that they can support the continuity at home. We do this in consultation with the child to to protect confidentially, especially when working with adolescence as this is a delicate process of negotiation. We encourage all parents to contact us if they would like additional time, either alone or together with the child, to discuss any concerns or seek further feedback. Our privacy and confidentiality policies are outlined in detail in the consent form that you will be emailed and asked to sign. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns regarding these policies.
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In general, children’s therapy works best when the therapist and parents work together. But there may be some limitations to the specific information that you’re privy to.
Relationship Therapy
Before an initial relationship counselling session you will be emailed two different forms to complete. One will be the counselling consent form and the other will be a relationship specific questionnaire to get a deeper understanding of the relationship before we commence therapy.
In accordance with ACA guidelines, if you are seeing a counsellor for individual therapy you are not able to see the same counsellor for couples therapy. This is due to the relationship then having dual roles which can pollute the therapeutic relationship and cause an imbalance in the triad.
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At Foundational Care our goal in relationship therapy is not to save the marriage at all costs, it is for both members in the relationship to gain a deeper understanding of themselves first and then with one another. If both members then choose to stay together, the relationship can flourish from a willing commitment rather than staying together out of fear or need. When we have a loving relationship with our own growth first and foremost before the need and security of having an interpersonal arrangement, then the ensuring relationship is more free to grow and change rather than constantly blaming our spouse for holding us back.