Fathers & Family Relationships
Practical, family-focused counselling for fathers navigating separation, co-parenting, parenting pressure, changed family roles or a difficult relationship with a child.
Fatherhood can matter deeply while also bringing pressure, uncertainty and experiences that are difficult to explain. Counselling can help you remain steady, understand what is happening and focus on the relationship you want to build with your children.
Fathers seek counselling for many different reasons. You could be responding to a recent change, or working through something that has been building for a long time.
For fathers.
You are adjusting to a different home, less time with your children or uncertainty about your place in their everyday lives.
Communication with the other parent quickly becomes tense, confusing or conflict-driven, making it difficult to keep the focus on your children.
A child or teenager has become distant, avoids contact or seems angry with you, and you are unsure how to repair the relationship.
Providing financially, managing work and being emotionally available can feel like competing responsibilities with no clear balance.
FIFO work, travel, long hours or fatigue make it difficult to remain connected and involved in family life.
You could be becoming a father, entering a blended family, step-parenting or trying to understand your identity after a major family transition.
Counselling does not require you to be a perfect parent. It helps you understand your role, recognise what is within your influence and make considered decisions about what comes next.
Work through grief, rejection, uncertainty or anger without allowing these experiences to determine every response.
Understand what your child needs from you and find realistic ways to rebuild trust, safety and connection.
Clarify the values you want to bring to fatherhood and translate them into everyday choices and interactions.
Develop clearer communication, stronger boundaries and more child-focused responses when co-parenting is difficult.
Counselling for fathers is offered by Ken Byrne and Nadia Kidgell.
Counsellor · ACA, Member: 20240
Works with: Adult men, couples, parents and adult family members.
Principal Family Counsellor
Works with: Parents, teenagers, couples and whole families.
Appointments are available at our South Perth clinic (close to Como, Applecross, Victoria Park and Mount Pleasant) and online across Australia, including support for fathers managing FIFO rosters or time away from their children.
The first session gives you time to explain what has been happening, what has changed and what matters most to you.
Your counsellor will help you separate the things you can act on from decisions or behaviour that belong to another person.
You will develop practical steps for your wellbeing, communication, parenting and relationship with your children. If involving another family member could help, this will be discussed first and only occur when appropriate.
Counselling will often begin with a father-only appointment. Whether a child or another family member becomes involved depends on the child's age, the family circumstances, consent, the purpose of counselling and whether joint work is appropriate.
Yes. Counselling can help you manage your own responses, communicate more clearly, establish boundaries and keep your child's needs in view. Counselling is not mediation and cannot require the other parent to participate or agree.
Counselling does not determine parenting arrangements, provide legal advice or act as a parenting assessment. It can support you with the emotional impact of separation and help you make considered, child-focused decisions within your role.
You can attend individually. There is still meaningful work you can do around your responses, communication, boundaries, parenting decisions and relationship with your children.
Counselling can help you understand what could be contributing to the disconnection and consider safe, age-appropriate ways to respond. It cannot force contact or assume why a child is withdrawing. In some situations, specialist family, legal or child-focused support can also be necessary.
There is some overlap, but the focus is different. Counselling for fathers supports your experience, adjustment, parenting role and family relationships. Parent support is more directly focused on understanding and responding to a child's needs or behaviour.
No. You can book directly online without a GP referral.
An individual appointment is $169.40. Sessions involving more than one family member start at $193.60. Appointments are privately billed without Medicare or private health rebates.
Self-managed and plan-managed participants can use eligible NDIS funding. Discovery Family Therapy is not a registered NDIS provider.
Yes. Appointments can be arranged around a roster, including evening appointments and online sessions from site, to support fathers adjusting to time away from their children and the transition back into family life.
Yes. Appointments are available in person in South Perth and online across Australia.
Men's CounsellingIndividual support for relationship pressure, stress, alcohol concerns, grief, trauma and major life changes.
Divorce and Separation CounsellingSupport with the emotional and family changes that follow relationship breakdown.
Parent SupportPractical support for understanding your child's behaviour, emotions, neurodivergence or current difficulties.
Family CounsellingSupport when patterns of conflict or disconnection involve several members of the family.
Couples CounsellingSupport for partners navigating communication, trust, parenting pressure or uncertainty about the relationship.
Teen CounsellingIndividual and family-inclusive support for teenagers experiencing emotional, relational or family difficulties.
You can begin with an individual appointment even if the rest of the family is not ready to participate. Book directly or tell us what is happening and we will help you identify the most suitable first step.
Not sure where to start? Tell us what is happening, and we will help you find the right first step. Submitting this form does not confirm an appointment.
