FAMILY THERAPY
Family Therapy
Relationships can be affected by differences in communication, sensory needs, emotional regulation, executive functioning, intimacy, and the amount of practical or caregiving work each person is carrying.
Mindkit works with couples and partners across different relationship structures, including monogamous, polyamorous, open and other non-monogamous relationships.
50 or 75 minutes
Individual intake
50 minutes
Billed at the adult or child and adolescent individual rate
APPOINTMENTS
Telehealth across Australia, or in person in Brunswick East
How does it start?
How does it start?
Each participating family member has a separate 50-minute intake before joint sessions begin.
Where does it happen?
Where does it happen?
Telehealth across Australia or in person at Brunswick East.
How many sessions will we need?
How many sessions will we need?
There is no fixed course. You and Rumi agree on a starting plan and review it as therapy goes on.
How long are joint sessions?
How long are joint sessions?
Choose 50-minute or 75-minute appointments. We generally recommend 75 minutes.
*Different fees apply for three or more partners or appointments outside business hours.
What does it cost?
What does it cost?
Two-person joint sessions: $325 for 50 minutes or $485 for 75 minutes on weekdays.
Individual intake fees vary by the family member’s age.
Do we need a referral?
Do we need a referral?
No referral is required. Family Therapy is not eligible for a Medicare rebate.
Is Family Therapy the right service for us?
Family Therapy may be useful when the difficulty is not well described as one person’s individual problem. The same conflict may keep recurring, responsibilities may be difficult to negotiate, or family members may understand the same event in very different ways.
It can also be useful when Autism, ADHD or another form of neurodivergence has changed how the family understands an existing pattern. A parent, child, teenager, sibling or other family member may need something different from what the rest of the household has been expecting.
YOU DO NOT NEED A FORMAL AUTISM OR ADHD ASSESSMENT
Self-identified and questioning neurodivergent people are welcome. You do not need documentation to be taken seriously here.
What can Family Therapy help with?
Family Therapy can address recurring conflict, communication difficulties and patterns that have become difficult to change within the family.
Family Therapy can address recurring conflict, communication difficulties and patterns that have become difficult to change within the family.
What this may include
- parent-child or parent-teen friction where needs and expectations are repeatedly misread
- sibling conflict, including difficulties sharing space, attention or sensory environments
- household routines, responsibilities and executive load that have become uneven or difficult to manage
- different needs for predictability, social contact, recovery time, movement or sensory input
- changes in how the family understands itself after Autism, ADHD or another form of neurodivergence is recognised
The clinical goal is to define the pattern precisely enough to work out what could change, what needs accommodation and what is realistic for all family members, given their individual traits, needs and circumstances.
How does Family Therapy work?
Each participating family member is seen separately before joint work begins.
Book directly or use the free consult
If you already know you want Family Therapy, you can book through Book a Session. If you are unsure which service fits, the free 15-minute telehealth consult can be used first.
Individual intakes
Each person has a separate 50-minute intake, which gives them a chance to describe what is happening from their own perspective. Intakes are billed at the adult or child and adolescent individual rate.
Each person has a separate 50-minute intake, which gives them a chance to describe what is happening from their own perspective. Intakes are billed at the adult or child and adolescent individual rate.
Each person has a separate 50-minute intake, which gives them a chance to describe what is happening from their own perspective. Intakes are billed at the adult or child and adolescent individual rate.
The joint-session structure is agreed
Joint appointments can be 50 or 75 minutes. We generally recommend 75 minutes because the additional time allows an interaction to be examined and worked with during the same appointment.
Joint sessions focus on the recurring interaction
Joint sessions look at what happens between family members and what needs to change in everyday life.
How does Family Therapy work?
Each participating family member is seen separately before joint work begins.
Book directly or use the free consult
If you already know you want Family Therapy, you can book through Book a Session. If you are unsure which service fits, the free 15-minute telehealth consult can be used first.
Individual intakes
Each person has a separate 50-minute intake, which gives them a chance to describe what is happening from their own perspective. Intakes are billed at the adult or child and adolescent individual rate.
The joint-session structure is agreed
Joint appointments can be 50 or 75 minutes. We generally recommend 75 minutes because the additional time allows an interaction to be examined and worked with during the same appointment.
Joint sessions focus on the recurring interaction
Joint sessions look at what happens between family members and what needs to change in everyday life.
What are the sessions like?
Family members do not need to communicate in the same way during therapy.
Each person can move, use fidgets, refer to notes, take breaks or change position. There is no expectation of eye contact, and for telehealth sessions, cameras can stay off. Our Brunswick East rooms have flexible seating and are scent-free.
There is time to think. One person may need longer before answering, another may explain something more easily in writing, and a younger family member may need a different structure from the adults in the room.
Some things can be hard to talk about, especially with other family members present. Anyone can ask for a question to be repeated or reworded, decline a question or leave a topic. Rumi will explain when part of a session needs to be done in a particular way.
Clinical Neuropsychologist
Rumi provides Family Therapy at Mindkit. Her work begins with a formulation of what each person is experiencing, what happens between family members, and which cognitive, emotional, sensory or practical factors are contributing to the pattern. She draws on emotion-focused and systemic work, psychoeducation about neurodivergence, parts-based approaches and resourcing when these fit the family and the goals of therapy. Rumi currently has a waitlist for ongoing therapy, and two new psychologists with similar training are joining Mindkit soon.
How can neurodivergence affect family relationships?
Neurodivergence can affect family relationships through the interaction between different communication styles, sensory needs and executive demands. Often the question is what happens when one person’s needs meet another person’s expectations.
A family member who needs additional processing time may become quieter when a conversation becomes intense. Another person may read the silence as refusal to engage and increase the pressure for an immediate answer. The additional pressure can make processing harder, which can make the interaction repeat even when both people want it to go differently.
Executive-function difficulties can change how tasks are shared in a household. One person may need frequent reminders, help initiating tasks or external systems for remembering what needs to happen. Another person may gradually take responsibility for monitoring the task. Over time, the monitoring itself can become part of the conflict.
Sensory needs can also compete in shared spaces. Noise, touch, lighting, social activity or the need for time alone may be manageable for one family member and exhausting for another. A request to reduce input can then be interpreted as rejection, avoidance or unwillingness when the immediate issue is sensory or regulatory.
Family Therapy uses these differences to understand the pattern that keeps repeating. The aim is not to make everybody communicate or regulate in the same way.
Can other support sit alongside Family Therapy?
Sometimes Family Therapy identifies a practical difficulty that needs more direct support outside the joint appointment.
Coaching and practical support
Executive Function Coaching may be useful when planning, organisation, task initiation or routines are contributing to the family pattern. Support Work can help with practical tasks and body doubling. Therapy Assistant support can help with putting agreed strategies into practice when it is clinically appropriate.
Individual Therapy alongside Family Therapy
Individual Therapy can also sit alongside Family Therapy when one family member has goals that need their own therapeutic space. These services do not replace Family Therapy. They address a different part of the problem.
Fees for Family Therapy
Joint-session fees depend on how many people attend.
Intake, each family member
$275 / $325
Adults $275. Children and teenagers $325. Each intake is 50 minutes and comes before joint sessions begin.
Joint session, two people
$325 / $485
$325 for 50 minutes or $485 for 75 minutes. We generally recommend 75 minutes.
Three or more family members
$425 / $585
Three people: $425 for 50 minutes or $585 for 75 minutes.
Four people: $500 or $660.
Five or more: quoted individually.
After-hours appointments cost $15 more per session, for intakes and joint sessions alike.
Medicare does not cover family therapy. If a family member has a Better Access mental health plan, up to two of their Medicare sessions each year can be used for family or carers to meet with the psychologist without them. Ask us whether this suits your family.
Self-managed and plan-managed NDIS participants may be able to use funding where the sessions relate to their plan goals and the relevant NDIS rules. A travel fee applies for in-person NDIS sessions.
If one person is the therapy client and a family member attends only to support that person’s treatment, the appointment may remain Individual Therapy. The individual therapy fee and funding rules then apply.
Family Therapy FAQ
Can I start straight away?
Rumi currently has a waitlist for ongoing therapy. Two psychologists with similar training and experience are joining Mindkit soon, the first within the next few weeks, so more appointments will open shortly. You can join the waitlist now. Strategy Sessions with Rumi are available now.
Do we need an Autism or ADHD assessment before starting?
No. Family Therapy can begin without a formal Autism or ADHD assessment.
How many sessions will we need?
There is no fixed course. Some families come for a few focused sessions and others continue for longer. You and Rumi agree on a starting plan and review it as therapy goes on.
Can parents, siblings and wider family members attend?
Yes. Family Therapy can involve parents, children or teenagers, siblings and wider family members.
Do we have to book the free 15-minute consult first?
No. You can book Family Therapy directly. The free consult is available if you want help deciding whether Family Therapy is the right service before you book.
Ready to start?
Book a Family Therapy session if you already know this is the service you want. If you are still deciding, use the free 15-minute telehealth consult to talk through the options first.
