The Safe House and The Family Counselling Centre âThe Safe Houseâ and its staff is one of the projects that we at The Family Counselling Centre (TFCC) support. The Safe House (TSH) is a place of safety for women and children who have been a victim of domestic abuse. It is situated in the middle of our âdeep southâ valley, in a secret location to ensure the safety of its residents. TFCC provides pro bono debriefing sessions when needed and individual counselling sessions for staff members. We also offer staff development for the housemothers, the social worker and the admin …
Tackling Tough Times – Communication made easy
We communicate all the time. Every minute of our waking day we are communicating something to someone somehow. How do we do that? Most people answer by saying “we talk and use words”, they are correct to a point. Communication, however, is so much more than just using words.  At our September “Let’s get Talking” event at Sandi’s bistro participants uncovered what supports communication and why communication breaks down. Here now some comments from some of our participants. “My husband and I joined a welcoming and informal group to discuss how we communicate with each other, especially when times are tough. Andrea took some …
SOCIAL MEDIA: GOOD, BAD OR UGLY?
Young and old talking about Social Media The consensus seems to be that Social Media might be a wonderful tool however there is this underlying fear of what seemes to be vast unknown dangers. Participants between the ages of 16 and sixty joined us in our last, “Let’s Get Talking”, discussion. Despite the age range it became obvious that everyone had struggles with healthy integration of social media. Questions like ⌠âWhat are the benefits of putting our life story online?â âHow to manage teenage users?â âSocial Media wastes a lot of time and at the same time can be …
Body Boosting for Stress Relief
(by Leigh Johnson) TFCCâs life coach, Leigh Johnson, had the pleasure of hosting our monthly âLetâs Get Talkingâ conversation last night. The topic was a pertinent one for our busy lifestyles: Managing Stress. What became clear from the stories of all participants was the incredible resource our bodies are â both in warning us about too much stress and in participating in the healing process itself. The impact of stress cannot be over-estimated and it is increasingly evident through statistics that show stress-related illnesses increasingly being the number one cause of premature deaths in our western societies; that we are …
Who Are You Disciplining?
 -written by Leigh Johnson The word âDisciplineâ is an interesting one. We all think we know what it means but when it comes down to defining it, it is actually far more elusive. An internet search too can prove just as inconclusive, with quite a variety of meanings and interpretations filling the screen. So what exactly is discipline? Iâm not going to answer that question as such â partly because I suspect a large number of you have got heart palpitations right now, or glazed eyes; and partly because the official definition is not important. The word âdisciplineâ is such a heavily loaded word that its …
Mother/Son Relationships
What is unique about mother/son relationships is the general expected high regard they hold for each other. Typical issues like the “Mommy’s Boy” , the overprotective mom or interfering mother and even the mom that replaces existing or potential spouses are well known publicly. We see sitcoms and comedy using these classic scenarios as materials for entertainment. What however is really behind them. Mothering a child is a full time job and instinct takes on a path of protecting the offspring and equipping the young ones with necessary life skills. On a side note – research shows that it does …
Use, Abuse and Misuse
The internet is full of memes that illustrate the widely accepted need for some kind of alcoholic beverage to calm nerves, to celebrate, to finish the day, to relax, to reward, to surprise etc. They are trying to convince us that we are deserving and ought not to feel bad about our Sun-downers, quick drinks after work with the guys, G&Tâs or Bubbly or Mommy juice. Unfortunately at The Family Counselling Centre we see a more sinister side to those memes. Mothers and fathers, filled with guilt and shame, come and sit with us in our counselling rooms. They woefully …
ADD/ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Aggression etc.
Does any of this sound familiar to you? Your child is unable to sit still, he does not follow instructions, she is so manipulative, punishment does not seem to work, her teacher thinks she might be depressed, very low concentration span, struggling with sequencing etc. Terms like ADHD/ADD, Autism Spectrum, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia seem to be brandied about quite easily and it seems like, if the child has a label or a diagnosis it might be easier to send him/her off to be treated or medicated. What if I were to tell you that there are so many otherfactors that could be …
Are you living with a special needs/disabled child?
Then this is for you! One of our passions at The Family Counselling Centre is disability awareness. I, Andrea Nettel, have a special heart for families living with disabilities because my son was diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy at age 2 . He is severely disabled and needs an electric wheelchair and a service dog to function semi-independently. He is now 16, goes to Wynberg Boys High School and aside from his disability he is a normal teenager. My journey with him has made me acutely aware of the unique situations families with disabilities find themselves in. Disability, special needs, differently-abled… …
@ Your Service in 2018
Our Office is reopening on 8th January 2017. For assistance or to make an appointment please WhatsApp or call us on 072 375 6089. Here are some new things we have planned :