SUPPORT FOR CARERS

DCD Carers Counselling: Information for DCD Carers

Foster carers and their families have access to a confidential counselling service. The service is available to each family free of charge for three sessions per year.

The counselling service to foster carers aims to support families to deal with an often demanding and emotional role.

The service provides support in addition to the support you receive from the Department of Community Development to deal with these challenges.

The role of the counsellors is not to influence or try to advocate on case matters but to help carers deal with how they and their families might feel about issues.

Some examples of reasons you may want to contact a counsellor include:

1. Preparation and support for you and your family to adjust to the demands of caring for foster children.
2. Assistance to overcome the pressure put on relationships in the family because of the demands of caring for children.
3. Support and counselling to address grief and loss issues .
4. Assistance to deal with issues relating to contact visits between the children in your care and their families.
5. Support to say goodbye to the children in your care that you and/or your family have become close to when it is time for the child/ren to leave.