Andrea answers some questions about how to go about introducing a new love intrest to your children. The basis of a healthy relationship with your children is to implement – The 4 -Ls of healthy parenting LISTEN to your children, LEARN about your children, LAUGH with your children and LOVE your children in action Age-approproiate honesty is of utmost importance when communication with your children especially when talking to them about so-called touchy subjects. Click on the logo or on the link below to listen to the podcast. https://omny.fm/shows/capetalk/introducing-your-partner-to-your-kids
Author: Andrea Nettel
How to deal with post-divorce festive season
Sarah J King talks to Andrea Nettel Andrea Nettel, the founder and director of The Family Counselling Centre specialises working with individuals, couples and families who have experienced trauma. She joined Sarah J. King from Cape Talk to give some advice on how to approach the festive season after having gone through the trauma of divorce. Please click on the Photo or the link below to listen to the conversation. https://omny.fm/shows/weekend-breakfast-with-africa-melane/how-to-deal-with-a-post-divorce-festive-season
A Question of Trust
By Leigh Johnson – Affiliate Parenting Coach at The Family Counselling Centre At a recent presentation I gave at The Friday Network to practitioners in the Learning and Development field, I was reminded of how fundamental self awareness and growth is in order for us to impact others. No matter what roles we perform in life, there is an essential need to start growth and change with ourselves first. We often look to the systems we are a part of – families, organisations, communities, nations – and bemoan the problems we see there, when the place we really need to …
Supporting Your Children Through Exams
When did you last write an exam or test? Many parents will tell you that their last time was as recently as the last exam written by their child or teenager! Truly the stress, planning and focus that are required to assist your children to get through their exams is often equivalent to that which you would experience were you to sit the exam yourself – and sometimes even higher. Crucial to assisting families to weather the exam storm and come out smiling at the other end, are some practices that parents can put into place at exam time, and …
Some exciting news from our team:
We have a Winner in our midst! Our Director, Andrea Nettel, is the winner of one of only three Scholarships offered by Mediation Academy. Well Done Andrea and Congratulations. Here now the official announcement from the Mediation Academy: “We are happy to announce the 3 winners of the full scholarships for the 64h Family Mediation course. Congratulations: Scholarship #1: Barbara Jaftha, Scholarship #2: Andrea Nettel, Scholarship #3: Nicky Shortt Our three winners will complete their Family Law Mediation training online, after which they will be able to get international accreditation and start their own practices. We would like to thank our co-sponsors, …
Blessing the Women at Nerina Gardens, Fish Hoek Â
The TFCC team decided to commit ourselves to doing something special and memorable for some of the precious women in our community for August, as  Women’s month. We decided to keep it close and local…… and chose to visit one of our long-established retirement villages namely Nerina Gardens, around the corner from our rooms in Fish Hoek. We focused on the frail care section and put together a beautiful gift for each of the ladies, a token of our love and appreciation for them. They each received a beaded necklace (made by our very talented and creative receptionist, Carol Bradley) …
What impact do you have on your family?
Being aware of – and taking responsibility for – the impact of our behaviours, wording and thinking on those we are closest to is such an important part of being a parent. We have so many opportunities to make a positive difference each day. Although we don’t always get it right, developing our awareness and making choices is possible and necessary if we are to live into our true potential as parents. Click here to hear how our new Parenting Coach, Leigh Johnson, is trying to change how she impacts those around her. Let us know if any of these ideas are …
Our Director steps in as Bay Primary’s School Counsellor
The Family Counselling Centre are excited to announce that our Director, Andrea Nettel, has been appointed as the School Counsellor at Bay Primary School, Fish Hoek, while Erica Searle is on sabatical to complete her Honours. Andrea’s mandate is to assist learners with short term counselling and to refer them to appropriate professionals if more assistance is required. She will work with the learners in regards to socialisation, anxiety, crisis management and interpersonal communication. Trauma debriefing, and working with the learning support team to find adequate solutions for the struggling learner, also forms part of my role. Andrea is looking forward …
You CAN change your mind – literally!
Our brains are the physical structures which support our “minds” or thoughts, and our thoughts form physical structures in our brains – called neural pathways. Neural plasticity is the capacity of the brain to change, and this takes place through re-organisation of the neural pathways in our brains. Neural pathways are “preserved” through frequent use, for example: Learning a poem off by heart through repetition creates physical structure in our brain, and a simple motor sequence practiced for 10 – 20 minutes a day for 4 weeks can cause a change in the brain region supporting performance of a task . …
Preparing for the High Seas of Life
A major  part of being a parent is to teach our children to navigate through life and to learn basic essential values such as honesty, empathy, integrity, purity and many more. In order to do so we take opportunities to  teach lessons,  instil rules, talk about consequences and more often then we want to, we find ourselves having to execute those consequences.  I applaud every parent who spends the time and energy  getting their kids “sea-worthy”, because it is really hard work. I have some more thoughts though. What happens if they blatantly lie? What happens when they succumb to teenage peer …