Family counselling is very much like one-to-one counselling, but instead of seeing an individual, multiple members of the same family can be seen together. Family counselling will give each member of the family a safe place to talk about the things concerning them. The family and the counsellor will decide which family members come to the sessions. This choice will depend on what needs to be talked about and who it affects most.

Yes! We won’t give out information about your family to anyone without your agreement. The only time we might have to do this is if the counsellor feels a member of your family or another person may be at risk of serious harm. We’ll always try to discuss this with you before doing so. Our counsellors may also need to confidentially share what you’ve talked about with their TIC+ supervisor to make sure they’re giving you the best possible help that they can.

When you contact us to make a referral for a family it would be helpful if you could give us the following:

General Family Information:

• Contact details
• GP name and address
• Times the family is available for counselling
• How far the family is willing to travel
• Brief summary of why counselling is required
• Relevant background information
• Other agencies involved (where known)
• Previous counselling history
• Disabilities that may affect access to counselling

Individual Family Member Information:

• Full name
• Date of birth
• Gender
• Ethnic origin
• School or college

When you contact us to make a referral for family counselling it would be helpful if you could give us the following information about your family:

• Full names of each family member
• Date of Birth for each family member
• Gender of each family member
• Ethnic Origin of each family member
• School or colleges of children
• Contact details
• GP name and address
• Brief summary of why counselling is required
• Relevant background information
• Other agencies involved
• Previous counselling history (if relevant)
• Disabilities that may affect access to counselling (if relevant)

Sessions usually last 50 minutes. At first they may be weekly, but sometimes they may be fortnightly or even monthly.

Our family counsellors work out of several locations across Gloucestershire. This will be discussed with you when you contact us.

TIC+ works hard at raising funds to provide this service. For it to be sustainable, we ask parents to contribute towards the cost if they feel able. See our donate page for more information on how you can easily make a contribution to the sessions.

If you have anything you’d like to tell us about your contact with TIC+, we’d like to hear about it — please use the feedback form below. If you’re unhappy about any aspect of our service, please let us know as soon as possible using the complaints form at the bottom of the page.