Over the course of 15 weekly sessions, children aged between 9 and 12 learn how to cope better with changes and pressures within their families.
Dealing with difficult emotions in a playful way
How do you express joy, anger, sadness, homesickness or jealousy? The group has come up with a creative approach to help the children do just that: they make their own ‘emotion masks’ out of paper plates. Under the cover of these masks, the participants find it noticeably easier to portray sensitive emotions through body language, which the others then have to guess. “Some feelings aren’t clearly recognisable at first glance,” the children note during the subsequent rounds. This is precisely where the team of group leaders comes in: Elke Desgranges, a qualified psychologist, and Christian Eckhardt-Schug, a qualified social worker, teach the children how important it is to talk about their own feelings. An invaluable side effect is that, within the group, the children realise they are not alone with their experiences and worries. This provides relief and strengthens mutual understanding.
Comprehensive support for parents and families
As separations can also cause deep anxiety for parents – for example, if their child’s school performance declines or they start displaying aggressive behaviour – the counselling centre also offers targeted support for adults. It is often enough simply to explain to parents the age-appropriate, normal and temporary reactions a child may experience following a separation.
For more serious problems or conflicts, the counselling centre offers further support:
- Individual counselling: A personalised assessment of the support needs of parents and children.
- Mediation: Facilitating the resolution of disputes between partners (e.g. regarding visiting arrangements) in order to reach mutually agreed solutions in the best interests of the child.
- Supervised contact: In highly contentious cases, or to facilitate contact following a prolonged break, meetings between the child and a parent can take place directly within the safe environment of the counselling centre and be supervised by a professional.
Free, confidential and without a bank transfer
As well as offering counselling on separation, the team at the Family Psychological Counselling Centre is on hand to help with any parenting and developmental issues, school problems or conflicts arising from puberty. Important for anyone seeking advice: Counselling is strictly confidential; all staff are bound by a duty of confidentiality. The services are free of charge and can be accessed without a doctor’s referral.
Contact and registration:
Saarpfalz District Psychological Counselling Centre Bahnhofsplatz 4
66424 Homburg
Telephone: 06841 104-7222
Email: [email protected]
“When parents split up …”
A group programme for children aged 9 to 12
Dates: 15 group sessions, every Tuesday from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm
Start date: 3 February 2027
Registration deadline: 15 January 2027