Counselling Services

What is Counselling

Counselling can help people cope with life's difficulties and help them make a positive change. Counselling can be hugely beneficial for many people in a wide variety of situations including helping people to cope with depression and anxiety, bereavement, relationship difficulties, as well as personal problem solving. Counselling offers people a safe, confidential place to talk about life issues and problems that may be confusing, painful or uncomfortable.

Counselling Is

The process that occurs when a client and a counsellor set aside time to explore difficulties which may include the stressful and emotional feelings of the client.

The act of helping a client see things more clearly, possibly from a different viewpoint. This can enable the client to focus on feelings, experiences or behaviour, with a goal of facilitating positive change.

The Counsellor enables the client to explore many aspects of their life and feelings by talking openly and freely in such a way that may be difficult to do with family and friends. The Counsellor neither judges nor offers advice. The Counsellor gives a client an opportunity to express difficult feelings such as anger, resentment guilt and fear in a confidential environment.

counselling service at Franklin Family Support

The Counsellor may encourage the client to examine parts of their lives that they may have found difficult or impossible to face before. There may be some exploration of experiences in order to throw some light on why an individual reacts or responds in certain ways in given situations. This is often followed by considering ways in which the client may change such behaviours.

Effective counselling reduces confusion, allowing the client to make more effective decisions leading to positive changes in their attitude and/or behaviour. The ultimate aim of counselling is to enable the client to make their own choices, reach their own decisions and to act upon them accordingly.

Counselling can assist with:

Grief
Stress
Relationships
Depression
Anxiety
Parenting
Abuse
Anger
Family

Our counsellors work within the guidelines of the Code of Ethics as required by NZAC and Franklin Family Support Services policies and procedures.

We respect confidentiality unless the safety of the client or others is threatened.

Referral Form

Our Counsellors

Martina

(B.App.Soc.Sci) (Counselling), NZAC registered counsellor, Registered FDR voice of the child mediator.

Tina has trained in client-centered Therapy. She has worked in the Waiuku/Franklin community for several years. Tina has over 20 years of experience in working with children and young people through a range of roles, youth leader, daycares, teacher aide, and a nanny.

More about Martina

This has given her a great deal of experience in working with a child through each developmental stage - from newborn to late adolescent.

Tina grew up in Ireland, has strong family and community values, which she incorporates into her work. She knows the importance of family/whanau and community/hapu to shape and grow happy, healthy children and young people.

Tina uses a child-centered and family-focused approach to deliver the best results for both child and family. She uses creative and play approaches to engage with the child or young person. This method helps them to communicate their stress or worries. Her strengths are building a strong rapport or therapeutic relationship, age-appropriate communication, advocation, and working as part of a team to ensure the best outcome for her client.

Charlotte

Counsellor

Certificate in visual arts (CVA), Bachelor of visual arts (BVA), Bachelor of Applied counselling (B.A. Counselling), Provisional member of NZAC

Charlotte’s approach is client led and person centered with an emphasis on the therapeutic relationship, authenticity, compassion, awareness, and inner self strength. Charlotte is very passionate about the needs and support of others and their unique experiences and a strong advocate for holistic mental health.

More about Charlotte

Regina

Student Counsellor

3^rd year - Bachelor of Applied Counselling

Regina has been working in the Mental Health and Addictions space supporting its leaders with business management and improvement and change projects for over 5 years. In 2021 she started her Bachelors in Applied Counselling so she could also support people in our community at the forefront of their distress.

More about Regina

“It is a privilege when someone comes to see me and then decides to share their most vulnerable moments with me. I will be there to listen and hear you, most of all to feel acknowledged for the courage to seek support with what life presents. Have you heard the saying ‘two heads are better than one’? This is most often so true!”

Regina has been with Franklin Family Support Services since the start of 2021 as a student counsellor and will complete her studies at the end of 2022. She has studied as a pluralistic counsellor combining a person-centered approach across multiple therapies such as Gestalt, creative expressive art, behavior modification, progressive relaxation and desensitization, narrative therapy, and the cultural health models of Fonofale and Whare tapa whā. Regina has special interest in contemplative sciences and mindful based approaches, and working with our rangatahi to get the help they need as early as they can.

Janita

Bachelor of Applied Counselling (B.A. Counselling), Provisional member of NZAC

Janita has a passion for people and for seeing her client’s recognise their strengths and feel empowered for change. Her client-centered approach means that she personalises her work to suit the needs of the client, and she aims to work collaboratively in every aspect of the counselling experience. Janita work’s with adults, teens and children, and is driven to help people develop tools that will equip them to go forward with confidence.

Counsellor

Fees for Counselling

Franklin Family Support Services (FFSS) is a voluntary organisation and our volunteers give many hours of service. Counselling, however, requires specialised training and we, therefore, employ our counsellors.

Fee/session $60.00 Children $80.00 Adults per session (fully funded sessions may apply)
Student Counsellors are $30.00 (children) and $40.00 (adults) per session

Fees are payable at the time of the appointment, if you are not able to pay, please inform the Receptionist before you attend your appointment.

FFSS reserves the right to charge full fees for all missed appointments or appointments cancelled at short notice. We accept cash, cheque, or EFTPOS.