Family Counselling
Understanding each other differently
Family counselling offers a calm, structured, and completely confidential space to explore the patterns and dynamics that shape your relationships, and to find new ways forward together.
What It Involves
Working with the family as a whole
Family counselling does not focus on one person as "the problem." It explores the whole family system, the relationships, roles, patterns, and dynamics that shape how you relate to one another.
Every family develops its own ways of communicating, coping, and relating. Sometimes those patterns become stuck or unhelpful, and it can be very difficult to see them from the inside. Family counselling brings an experienced, neutral perspective to help you understand what is happening and why, and to find more constructive ways of being together.
I draw on a systemic approach, which means I look at the relationships between family members, the interactions, the history, and the wider context that shapes your family life, rather than focusing solely on the individual. This approach is particularly powerful in family work because it honours every person's experience while holding the whole relationship in view.
Every voice is heard
Each family member, adult or young person, is given equal space to express their experience, without interruption or judgement.
No blame, no sides
I do not identify one person as the cause of the difficulty. Family dynamics are rarely that simple, and I hold that complexity with care.
New ways of communicating
One of the most immediate benefits of family counselling is learning to hear one another differently — and express things that have felt impossible to say.
Strictly confidential
Everything shared in family sessions is held in complete confidence. I will explain the limited exceptions clearly before we begin.
The Systemic Approach
Understanding your family in its full context
A systemic approach understands individuals not in isolation, but as part of a web of relationships, the family unit, extended family, community, and wider social and cultural context. What happens in one part of the system affects every other part.
This means that when a child is struggling, or when conflict keeps recurring between family members, the question is never simply "what is wrong with this person?" but rather "what is happening in the system around them, and what does this family need in order to shift?"
This is an empowering, non-blaming approach, and it is at the heart of how I work with families.
"Every family has patterns, some that bind us together, and some that hold us back. Understanding those patterns is the first step to changing them."
— Karen Swarbrick
Issues I Can Help With
Common concerns families bring to counselling
Families arrive carrying many different things. Here are some of the most frequently presenting concerns, alongside a broader sense of the range of issues that can be helpfully explored in family counselling.
Parent–Child Conflict
Tension between parents and children — particularly teenagers — is one of the most common reasons families seek counselling. Exploring what each person needs, and why, can transform these relationships.
Blended & Step-Families
Bringing two families together is a complex process. Counselling supports blended families in building new relationships, navigating loyalties, and developing shared ways of living together.
Impact of Parental Separation
When parents separate, the whole family system changes. Counselling helps families, including children, process this change and find a new way of being a family in a different form.
Estrangement & Disconnection
When family members have become estranged, or when emotional distance has grown over time, counselling can create a safe bridge, a space to begin rebuilding, when everyone is willing to try.
What You Can Expect From Me
My commitment to your family, every session
Family counselling requires a particular kind of skill, the ability to hold multiple perspectives at once, ensure no one is sidelined, and facilitate genuine connection across difference. Here is what I bring to every session.
Equal space for everyone
I ensure that every person in the room has equal opportunity to speak and be heard, including younger family members, who are often the first to be talked over.
Warmth without taking sides
I am genuinely warm towards every family member, and genuinely neutral. You will each feel cared for, and none of you will feel judged or favoured over another.
A systemic lens
I bring a systemic perspective to every session, looking at the whole family, not just the individual, and helping you understand the patterns that are shaping your relationships.
Strengths-focused
I look for what your family already does well — the resources, resilience, and care that are already there — and help you build on those as you work through difficulties.
Completely confidential
Everything shared in sessions is held in full confidence. I will be transparent about the very limited exceptions before we begin, so every family member knows where they stand.
Professional & ethical
As an NCPS registered member working within a full ethical framework, your family's wellbeing and safety are the foundation of everything I do.
Cost
Clear, straightforward pricing
Family sessions are 75 minutes in length, the longest of all session types, reflecting the additional time needed to give every family member space to be heard and to do meaningful work together.
Sessions are available during the day and in the evening, in person or online, whichever works best for your family's circumstances.
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75-minute sessions, the longest session type
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Day and evening availability
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In person (Scunthorpe area, DN17 / DN16 / DN15)
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Online via video or telephone
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Frequency agreed between us
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Session composition can change over time
Family Counselling
£70
per 75-minute session
Sessions for your whole family
A calm, confidential, and impartial space for your family — in person or online, at a time that works for everyone.
75 minutes — space for every voice
Flexible session composition
In person or online
Systemic, integrative approach
NCPS registered & fully confidential
Cancellation Policy
Please give as much notice as possible if you need to cancel or rearrange. Full details of the cancellation policy will be shared when we begin working together.