Counselling
This year, our counselling services assisted 5204 clients. Counselling offers opportunities for individuals,
couples and families to explore challenging aspects of their lives and relationships. This confidential process
is undertaken by our highly skilled counsellors, who assist clients to work through their issues and towards
solutions.
Case Study: Caringbah
(As told by the Counsellor)
A man over 65 years of age self-referred to Interrelate after reading responses from the Royal
Commission into sexual abuse in Institutions in the news. He attempted to call the Caringbah
centre numerous times, however he felt overwhelmed and stated that it took him several months
to actually book his first counselling appointment. He knew he had been feeling depressed and
wondered how he could share his story with a stranger. He asked himself the question “How
could someone else walk in my shoes?”
What happened?
Once the man gained the courage to book his first appointment he was able to share his story
with me and I was able to walk in his shoes. Using the Emotional Focused Therapy model we could
work on his primary and secondary emotions and on his beliefs and self-interior experience. In my
assessment I could see his guilt, shame, suffering and pain. The man felt safe in the counselling
session, he could share things that he had never done before. His sense of belonging and his selfesteem had been damaged from the abuse he had suffered when he was just a little kid. His little
child was screaming for help, but he didn’t know what was going on inside of him, he felt lost and
confused. Walking in his shoes wasn’t easy and at times I doubted myself and thought if I could really
help this man heal so many wounds from his past. I had shared my doubts with my supervisor and
together we discussed strategies to help my client.
After almost a year of walking in his tight shoes I can say that this is a new man, he is able to talk
about his fears and has become more confident and has attended the Royal Commission and told his
story, this was a great point in his counselling. I was by his side and I was so proud of him!
In our last session this man told me that he feels his little boy is healing and he knows that he has
become confident to be himself, to make choices because he knows what happened to him wasn’t
his fault.
Why do you think there was a significant change?
This man had the courage to start his counselling process, to face his fears and express his grief and
anger in a safe space. He became empowered and was able to share his feelings, to talk about his
needs and heal his