When you bring your child in for counselling, we know you are making sacrifices to do what’s best for them. We want to give you confidence that we’re on the same team, working together to make a difference for your child.

What is Play Therapy?

Play Therapy helps tamariki understand muddled feelings and upsetting events that they haven’t had the chance to sort out properly.  Tamariki can struggle to communicate using words, so play therapy allows children to use play to communicate at their own level and at their own pace, without feeling interrogated or threatened.  Your child’s counsellor will provide a selection of resources to enable your child to use these to express themselves.   Sometimes they may re-enact or play out traumatic or difficult life experiences in order to make sense of their past and cope better with their future. Tamariki may also learn to manage relationships and conflicts in more appropriate ways.                                    

How long are sessions?

For children we keep our sessions shorter, at 45 minutes per session.

What is your responsibility as a parent or caregiver? 

1. To stay onsite while your child is in therapy by taking a seat in our reception area.  If you have parked at one of the carparks at our front door, you can choose to wait in your vehicle.  It is important that the counsellor can find you if needed during the session. 

2. Refrain from asking your child to “be good in therapy”.  Therapy is not about being ‘good’ or ‘bad’ and your child must feel free to express ‘bad’ feelings in an uncensored way. 

3. Respect the need for your child to develop a trusting relationship with their counsellor as the therapeutic relationship that develops between your child and their counsellor is crucial to the process of providing support. 

4. Refrain from using your child’s counsellor as a mediator for their parent’s adult issues. 

5. Resist the urge to ask your child what they did as this will put pressure on them to comment on something they may have difficulty understanding themselves.   

How frequent are sessions, and how many sessions will my child need?

That is up to you. We usually recommend sessions start weekly, in order to build the supportive connection with your child’s counsellor and allow the flow of the work to develop and grow, with relevance to your child’s life. Sessions could also be fortnightly or monthly, as your schedule allows.

We would usually recommend planning for six to ten sessions, but that can also vary depending on your child’s needs. Throughout the process we review and evaluate how it’s going, and adapt our approach based on your child’s needs.

Are the things my child talks about disclosed to me?

The relationship between your child and their counsellor is a confidential one, and it’s important that your child can trust their counsellor, and know whatever they say in a session will not leave the room and be disclosed to anyone – even to you. If your child is worried about disappointing or upsetting you through the things they say, they may not be willing to open up.

However that doesn’t mean you’re shut out! You as a parent or caregiver are a vital part of the process, and the relationship between you and your child’s counsellor is also very important.

Before your child starts their sessions, we like to have a first session with you, to discuss your child’s needs and hear your perspective. Then throughout the process, your child’s counsellor will contact you to discuss any suggestions they have that might help your child, any specific concerns they have about your child’s safety or wellbeing, and any information your child has agreed would be helpful to share.

If appropriate, your child’s counsellor may suggest a referral for other professional interventions as part of the support. 

And your child’s counsellor will always disclose any information that could prevent a serious threat to your child’s life or health, or that of someone else, or a threat to public health or safety.

Can I ask for a different counsellor after my child starts their sessions?

Absolutely. Each counsellor has their own skill set, and follows their own style of counselling. It’s important that their style is the right fit for your child, and that they can build trust and a strong connection, in order to get the most out of the counselling process.

It is your right to ask for a different counsellor at any point during the process, for any reason. We will do our best to accommodate any requests, although this may come with delays or require changes to booked session times etc.

What happens if my child needs the toilet during a session?

Your counsellor will discuss options with you.  If you prefer to take them yourself, let the counsellor know.  Otherwise, during the session if your child needs to access the toilet, the counsellor will supervise this within our best practice policy of ensuring the toilet area is safe and supervising the door from a visible distance. 

How do I get to your offices?

Our office is on Main South Rd, directly opposite The Hub Hornby mall. Limited parking is available directly in front of our office, or free street parking available around the corner on Goulding Ave. We’re also very accessible by bus, with many routes stopping at Hornby Mall. We are also able to provide online sessions if needed.

By choosing to use our services, you’re helping our community.

When you choose to use our counselling service, you are supporting our community work at Te Whare Awhero.

We believe counselling can play a vital part in helping people through the challenges they face, and can help to improve our lives in many ways. But it’s sometimes needed most at times in life when people can least afford it.

In 2022 alone our team at Te Whare Awhero donated more than $277,500 in social value and services to the community, including free or subsidized counselling sessions, children’s counselling sessions in schools, supporting working families with before and after school care, sponsoring local children to achieve their goals, and supporting people in the community through many kinds of challenges.

This work doesn’t add anything to the cost of your child’s session, as it is largely paid for through grants and donations. But by choosing to visit our counsellors, you play a vital role in helping us keep the lights on and continue the great work we are doing in our community.