Hope for wider rollout of family therapy service
GoogleA new family therapy service could become available to more people following a trial.
Family Matters, based at the Family Hub in Penrith, Cumbria, has been offering intensive single sessions since October last year as part of a national pilot.
Westmorland and Furness Council's service manager for family health David Carter said it had been successful and there were hopes to roll out the service across the entire local authority later this year.
"There was this sense that families need quite a quick response sometimes with a challenge that they're facing, because sometimes as we know little problems turn into bigger problems if we can't find a solution," Carter said.
"So it's really about that early intervention and prevention and what opportunities could we create so families could work through some of those challenges early on."
'Waiting lists'
The council said it was one of six taking part in the scheme commissioned by the Department for Education.
Up to four family members can attend a session, which lasts up to an hour.
Carter said the service was "really valued" by families and helped more people access support.
It is based on single session family therapy and is designed to tackle a particular issue and help out people in one session - although follow-ups are also available if needed.
About 15 families have been seen so far and Carter said the response had been positive.
"Traditionally there might be waiting lists for therapeutic services and that might be quite long periods of time if you like," he added.
"So this has taken away some of those challenges about accessing a really timely, solution focused conversation."
