Relationship & Families

Nurturing Positive Self-Esteem in Children: Empowerment Through Counselling

Positive self-esteem is crucial for a child’s overall well-being and success throughout their lifetime. It serves as the foundation for healthy relationships, academic achievement, and emotional resilience. However, many children struggle with low self-esteem, which can have long-lasting effects on their mental health and self-confidence. While self-esteem can naturally fluctuate during chil... »

Influences on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Wellbeing

There are many things that influence Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing including poverty, racism and disregard for traditional practices. The ongoing effects of colonisation have created a burden that extends across generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, families and communities. The determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander soc... »

What is Domestic and Family Violence?

Domestic and family violence is a pattern of abusive behaviour that involves one person seeking to control and dominate another person. It is not the same as conflict. In this article, we explore some definitions, common terms and statistics around this topic. »

Rebuilding Romantic Intimacy

If you are in a long-term relationship, you may find yourself reminiscing about the past and asking yourself: what happened to the joy we used to feel in the honeymoon period? In this article, we focus on this question, and numerous strategies to help rebuild your romantic intimacy. »

Real Self-care for Busy Parents

During the rush of everyday life, we often neglect our own basic needs. It's common for parents, in particular, to feel exhausted or burnt out, and when we raise this issue with friends we often hear "don't neglect your self-care" or "have you tried meditation or yoga?". That's fair advice, but the problem remains: there's simply no time. »

Finding Meaning: Masculinity in Crisis

Many young men seek counselling because they feel lost. This happens especially in today’s world, where the boundaries of how a man is supposed to behave are shifting rapidly. This article articulates some causes and concepts that can assist counsellors in understanding masculinity, so they can help men find meaning in the modern world. »

Anger Management: De-escalating Anger

Would you know what to say or do in order to de-escalate from a client – or anyone – threatening to harm you if they don’t get what they want? Would you know – if all else fails – how to keep yourself safe in a violent situation? In this article, we share with you a set of responses for dealing with an angry person – safely – at each of seven levels of anger. »

Busting Common Myths About Anger

Because it is so multi-faceted, misperceptions about anger abound, and the question arises: how shall we regard anger? How do we advise the client to think about it? Folk wisdom often would say that the best thing to do is just let it all out, but is it? Clients complain that they cannot control it, that the tendency to be easily angered is inherited, but again, is there evidence for that? This ar... »

7 Powerful Strategies to Help Your Child Balance Their Brain Budget

This article has been republished with the permission of Superpower Kids. Superpower Kids develop fun, engaging social and emotional learning programs for children aged 5 to 10 years. You can find more informative articles like this at Superpower Kids Blog »

Infidelity: Rebuilding After a Betrayal

She makes an appointment to talk about the “what next” since the affair. You assume that her spouse has been unfaithful, but when she turns up to session, she tells you that she was the one who strayed. “It felt so good at the time,” she says. “I felt more alive and sexy than I have at any other time in the last decade. But it all happened so fast.” Is there any... »

Infidelity: Helping the Betrayed Partner

He sits down and looks at you dolefully, his big eyes full of hurt and desperation. “I don’t know why she cheated on me,” he whispers hoarsely, “but this is the worst hurt I have ever felt. I don’t know how I will cope, or what it means for our kids. I guess my marriage is over?” »

The Psychology of Bragging

You are asked at the cocktail party what you do. “Well,” you respond with enthusiasm, “I’m so excited right now. I just graduated with my degree in hospitality.” “Oh, a future barista,” says the other guest, swirling his drink. “I guess we can’t all get Ph.D.’s in science like I did.” »

Detecting the Deception

Counsellor to client mandated to come to counselling after an alleged domestic violence incident: “So, did you hit your wife?” »

Dealing with Deception in Counselling

“You should always believe your clients,” said the counselling-training professor to the trainees, “and you should always disbelieve them”  »

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