Offers for parents

• Conflict mediation and mediation:

When parents want to separate or are already divorced, various conflicts can arise when it comes to caring for their children. For example, they have to agree on how the handover of the children should be organised, how information about the children should be exchanged and how decisions concerning the joint children should be made. As separation/divorce is usually accompanied by a lot of emotions, it is often not easy to come to an agreement.

Our aim with mediation is to support you in reaching agreement on your issues. As counsellors, we remain neutral during mediation and each parent is assigned their own counsellor.

Mediation is always confidential and the counsellors are bound to secrecy.

Mediation is free of charge and a doctor's referral is not required. Simply call our counselling centre to register.

• Individual counselling for separated parents:

When parents separate, this means a change for everyone involved. A wide range of questions can arise and it can be helpful to discuss these with a neutral contact person. Therefore, as a parent, you can also contact our counselling centre without the other parent to take advantage of individual counselling.

Individual counselling is free of charge and all you need to do is call our advice centre.

• When parents split up - a group programme for children

The separation of parents is usually associated with far-reaching changes for the whole family. It is often a very stressful event for the children. Many feel anger, sadness or shame. Some are afraid of losing a parent forever or believe that they are to blame for the development. Even children who do not show any particular reactions can suffer greatly from the situation. They need support and time to cope with the inner "chaos" and the outer "disorder". To help them cope with the often difficult family situation, the Saarpfalz District Psychological Counselling Centre offers a group for children between the ages of 9 and 12. The group approaches the topic in a playful way and aims to achieve the following goals:

• let the children experience that others are affected by similar situations and that they are not alone in their experiences.
• help children to understand and express their feelings.
• support the children in developing constructive coping strategies.

The group is led by qualified psychologist Elke Desgranges and qualified social worker Christian Eckhardt-Schug.

If you are interested in the weekly 15-part group programme, please contact the secretariat of the Psychological Counselling Centre.

The course developed by the German Child Protection Association is a tried and tested programme. It strengthens parents' self-confidence as carers, makes everyday family life easier and provides an opportunity to exchange ideas with other parents.

The course helps you in 5 consecutive steps:

• Define your educational goals
• better understand your children's behaviour and strengthen their self-confidence and respond to their problems in a meaningful way
• develop their own skills in listening, negotiating, setting boundaries and resolving conflicts
• take your own needs seriously
• address recurring conflicts and look for solutions together as a family.

The course is offered by qualified psychologist Matthias Feind and qualified social worker Christian Eckhardt-Schug. If you are interested, please contact the office of the Psychological Counselling Centre.

In the family and when living together with children, there are many different challenges to overcome every day. Parents have to adapt to the different stages of their child's development, such as the defiant phase, puberty, starting kindergarten or school, and support the child according to their needs. In addition to childcare, there may also be family conflicts or stressful events such as illness or unemployment.

Many questions may arise, which you are welcome to ask our advice centre. Our team of counsellors will endeavour to support you with both minor and major problems.

We advise:

• Parents
• Single mothers or fathers
• Adoptive parents / foster parents or stepparents

Counselling is confidential in all cases, i.e. the counsellors are subject to the statutory duty of confidentiality.

Counselling is free of charge and a doctor's referral is not required. Simply call our counselling centre to register.