Why is Best Life counselling offering Post Separation support?

Melanie has provided spiritual and emotional support within an acute hospital setting from the emergency department, intensive care, to palliative care since 2004. Support themes include grief, loss, navigating change, relationships, and transition. This continues to provide Melanie with a rich tapestry of experience resulting in transferrable skills that can assist those going through the process of separation.

Russell has worked in Family Law since 2007, with a supervisory role since 2011.  This has honed his experience in navigating many complex situations, where he could ably develop and lead his organisation’s psycho-educational programs throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.

Melanie and Russell’s collective skills, combined with assistance from a diverse range of other professionals, provide a unique combination of resources for parents who have a faith and/or are interested in matters of faith. There are many mainstream services that offer excellent services to the general community.  Matters of faith are complex to deal with in this forum as professionals may not feel equipped to offer this and may not have the training to do so. Having a place where parents can talk freely about their faith in a post-separation context is important to us.

What do you mean by “people of faith” and “people who are interested in faith”?

Often language can divide. If we start framing definitions, we may exclude people.  Having said that, it is important to know where we are coming from.  Both Melanie and Russell are Christians and attend an Anglican Church.  Melanie is an ordained Anglican priest.  We are both experienced in working effectively with people who have no faith background and/or have a different faith. Some of the presentations reference the Christian faith and provide further reflection to the topic being discussed. We want to provide an environment where matters of faith and their application to post separation can be talked about and reflected upon openly.

What is the purpose of Best Life Counselling offering this support?

Best Life Counselling are offering this support as we are aware of the growing need of parents of faith to find a way forward in the complexities they are facing. Also, to uncover and discover the hope we have in our faith, and to offer a way to for separated parents to use their time well now, enjoy life and begin to plan for a hope-filled future with faith at the centre.

What are the key strengths of your program?

We believe that in summary there are three key strengths of our program - matters of faith are openly encouraged and discussed in the post separation context; there is a strong emphasis on hope. Every one of our 40 segments relates back to the topic of hope; there is a consistent theme of how you can find insight. We know parents face many complex issues. Though we do not promise easy answers to this complexity, we are confident that through engagement with the various aspects of our program, we can assist you to find insight.  Melanie and Russell’s experience both personally and professionally is that there is a strong connection between insight and hope.

What type of support is offered?

Support is offered on three levels.

Level 1: Finding a Hope filled Story Webinar. Free 1-hour webinars “Finding Your Hope Filled Story”.  For more information click here.

The webinars provide an overview of crucial topics, divided into four sections.

Part 1           The story didn’t go to plan. 

Part 2           Finding a hope filled story when I am on my own.

Part 3           Finding a hope filled story for my children.

Part 4           Finding my own hope filled story.

Level 2: Resources - Finding a Hope filled story presentations and interviews, 40 Segments of Hope.

We offer an in-depth series of recordings across four workbooks. Content is divided into the above four sections, with the addition of ten further segments to each section. Ideally each segment would be completed weekly or bi-weekly, where parents can watch the recordings and have time to complete the suggested workbook exercises. Additional resources and follow-up items are included, to be utilised as you feel it is appropriate and relevant to you. Course content may be read in any pace, however progression through the course more slowly gives you a chance to reflect, digest the material and its relevance to you. Workbooks can be purchased at our Store. We strongly encourage the purchase of all four workbooks to obtain the most from the course.

Level 3: Individual counselling with Melanie. 

You can access this support whether or not you have participated in Level 1 or 2. If you choose to engage in one of the other levels, then Melanie will draw upon your learnings to reinforce the goals that you mutually establish. Often clients report positive change after participating in a Parenting After Separation Course. The positive change will be likely to be sustained if you are able incorporate counselling with this as well. Bookings can be made here. Discounts are available for concession card holders by emailing melanie@bestlifecounselling.net.au 

Would you kindly explain the difference between the three offerings?

The Level 1 Webinar is a big picture overview, providing important information in the links between hope, faith and navigating separation.

The Level 2 recordings are an in-depth look at the same topics, with time given for deeper reflection as you explore matters of hope, faith and navigating separation.  Each of the 40 segments is linked back to the theme of hope through a series of presentations and interviews. Interviewed guests are from Australia, the United States, and the United Kingdom, and are experts in their particular fields.

The counselling outlined in Level 3, offers you the opportunity to talk through and find support in how you envisage applying these principles, alongside a trained professional.

What is the process if I sign up to a Webinar?”

Upon registering for a webinar, your invitation and Zoom webinar link will be emailed to you. Reminders will be emailed twenty-four hours and one-hour prior to the webinar.  On attendance at the webinar, you will be invited to fill out a survey.  One survey question will ask whether you want to be informed about upcoming events.  If you tick yes, Best Life Counselling will send you updates (no more than once a month) summarizing upcoming events and recent Blogs.  If you tick no, there will be no further follow up.  You may choose to withdraw from these updates at any time via return email.  Best Life Counselling is governed by Australian privacy laws and will not pass on your information to any third party, other than the initial registration via Zoom.  If you do not want to be registered in this way with Zoom, Best Life Counselling can supply your login details separately without using the Zoom registration process.  The registration process for the “40 Segments of Hope” is separate and will be explained further to those registered for these webinars.

What are the types of counselling that Melanie is likely to use?

Melanie will use counselling interventions that are appropriate to you and according to your needs. She will establish what your goals are and will work with you to achieve these. While some people may want to return to the past and focus on its influence on their current life. Those who receive counselling will be offered the invitation as to how they can move forward with the particular strengths they currently possess. Interventions may include practice from narrative therapy, strengths based therapy and solution based therapy.  All of this would provide insight into how parents can move forward to how they see living their best life.

Best Life Counselling refer to “collective documents”, what are these?

Narrative therapy encourages the use of “collective documents”.  These are records of what past participants have found helpful (de-identified) and these documents can provide inspiration to future participants as to how they can navigate their post separation. We will then integrate these documents into future courses as they become available.

How might I contribute to a “collective document”?

You can offer to have a separate interview with Russell. Usually, sections of the interview will be used to add to the collective document (with your permission). The only exceptions are where the comments made would be considered discriminatory/offensive to other readers.  We will provide a summary of some of the insights you have gained, and with your permission will share these in a de-identified way for future course participants.  You can choose to be notified when future participants report that they find your insights helpful. 

What about if I want to use my involvement with Best Life Counselling as proof in my involvement with the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia (FCFCOA).

We would hope that participants wish to participate in the course to gain benefit about how to navigate their situation, however we understand that the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia often refer parents to complete Parenting After Separation (PAS) programs. The reason for this referral is that the Federal Magistrate perceives that one of the parties or both of the parties could benefit from the PAS course. Their usual practice is to refer both parties regardless.  The Family Law Act notes that such courses should be from an “approved provider”.  Usually these are the funded services. However, practically the Courts often accept the work of private providers. As a private provider, we can offer upon completion of the 40-segment Level 2 (and recommended Level 1), you can book four sessions with Melanie for an all-inclusive price of $350. Melanie would be able to work through each of the four parts of the course in each session. You will be asked to complete a supplied form where you write a minimum one line summary as to what you might do practically as a result of considering each segment.  Melanie will then write a summary of what you have reported and an outline of the Course which you can send back to the Court.  This is more thorough than most post separation courses however you need to check with your lawyer and/or the Court Registrar if this will suffice for their particular purposes.  We can summarise that one of the reasons you chose Best Life Counselling is that you believed that there would be an understanding of your faith beliefs, if that is relevant to you. 

If a report was written, would that mean that Best Life Counselling will advocate for me?

Any report would be written on the basis of what you directly report to us, your supplied information from your 40-segment summary, and what we directly observe.  Best Life Counselling are neither qualified nor have authority to conduct investigations as to what has happened in the past nor what might happen in the future. Best Life Counselling can summarise themes from what you report to us and confirm that you willingly engaged in all four sessions, should that be the case.

What is distinctively spiritual about Best Life Counselling’s approach?

Melanie has tertiary qualifications in the practical implementation of theology (Bachelor of Ministry, Clinical Pastoral Education and Graduate Diploma in Counselling & Integrated Psychotherapy - Spiritual) and has been applying this in an acute hospital context since 2004. This multi-faith and no-faith environment supports people at possibly the most vulnerable time of their lives, including end of life care.  Melanie knows what practical spirituality looks like.  Russell has been able to use his knowledge and experience in Family Law to input and co-design the content for these presentations and integrate spiritual aspects to the content. 

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