What is family therapy?
This page is about family therapy. What it involves, what it can help with, and how our practitioners at Integro Health support families in a safe, non-judgemental environment in South West WA.
Family therapy works with the family as a whole, rather than treating one person as the problem. It brings family members together, with a skilled and impartial professional, to understand the patterns of communication and relationship that everyone is caught up in, and to find better ways of relating. It is not about assigning blame or picking sides. It recognises that families are systems, where each person affects the others, and that lasting change often comes from shifting the dynamic between people, not just changing one individual.
What family therapy can help with
Families seek support for many reasons. Common ones include ongoing conflict, communication that keeps breaking down, and difficulty adjusting to change, such as separation, divorce, blending families, or a new stage of life. Others come because one family member is struggling, a child or teenager with anxiety or behaviour difficulties, a parent under strain, or a family navigating grief, illness, or the effects of trauma together. When one person hurts, the whole family often feels it.
What we often see in practice is that everyone in a struggling family is usually doing their best, caught in a pattern that no one chose and no one alone can fix. Understanding that pattern together, rather than looking for someone to blame, is where change becomes possible.
At Integro Health, we help every family member feel heard, and we work with the relationships between you, so the family can become a source of support rather than strain.
How we work with your family
There is no single correct path for a family, and no two families are the same. What we do is work alongside you all, at a pace that feels manageable, using approaches grounded in psychological evidence and shaped by your particular family.
Making sure everyone is heard
Our first priority is that each family member feels genuinely heard, including the ones who usually go quiet. No one is cast as the problem, and everyone has a place in the conversation.
Seeing the pattern, not the culprit
Together, we look at the cycle that plays out when things go wrong. What happens, and then what happens next? Most family difficulties are a shared pattern, not one person’s fault, and seeing it clearly changes everything.
Working with what sits underneath
Conflict on the surface is often about something deeper, unmet needs, old hurts, or stress the family is carrying. We work with those layers so change goes beyond simply arguing less.
Building new ways of relating
We help you develop practical, lasting ways to communicate, resolve conflict, and support each other, so the family can turn toward each other rather than away.
Support at the right pace
Every family moves at its own speed, and not everyone has to attend every session. We check in with you and shape the work around what your family needs.
Meet the Team
At Integro Health, you do not just book a clinic. You choose a practitioner who understands you. Our team of experienced psychotherapists brings clinical depth, genuine warmth, and a broad range of specialisations together under one roof. Take a moment to read about each of our practitioners and find the right fit for where you are right now.
Dr Paul King
General Practitioner
MBBS Bachelor of Medicine/ Bachelor of Surgery
FRACGP Fellow of the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners
Jools Fordyce
Social Worker & Family Therapist
Bachelor (Hons) – Applied Social Science with Diploma in Social Work
Postgraduate Diploma in Family and Relationship Therapy
Brooke Eden
Psychologist
Bachelor of Psychology
Graduate Diploma of Education
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc.
Nicholas Kerr
Psychologist
Masters of Psychology (Organisational)
Bachelor of Arts
Member of the Australian Association of Psychologists Inc.
Carli King
Office Administrator
As Practice Manager, Carli keeps the daily operations of Integro Health running smoothly, ensuring our clients always receive the highest standard of care.
What you can expect when you reach out
No sides, no blame
Every family member will be met with warmth and genuine care. Our role is to support the family, not to judge anyone or decide who is at fault.
A whole-family lens
We look at the full picture, the relationships and patterns between you, because family difficulties rarely come from just one person.
Evidence-based approaches
We draw on approaches with strong evidence for families and relationships, tailored to your situation rather than a one-size formula.
In-clinic and online options
Whether your family can get to our Eaton clinic in Bunbury or you need the flexibility of telehealth, we can work with you wherever you are in South West WA.
What people get wrong about family therapy
One of the most common myths about family therapy is that it means putting the whole family on trial to find out whose fault it is. Good family therapy does the opposite. It steps away from blame and looks at the patterns everyone is caught in, so the family can work as a team rather than against each other.
Another misconception is that everyone has to attend every session for it to work. In practice, family therapy is flexible. Different combinations of family members may come at different times, and a great deal can shift even when not everyone is in the room.
We also see many families in South West WA who waited a long time, hoping things would settle on their own, before reaching out. Difficulties left unaddressed tend to become entrenched, and reaching out while there is still goodwill gives you far more to build on.
Finally, many people assume family therapy is only for families in crisis. It is just as valuable for families wanting to navigate a change, understand a struggling member, or simply relate better. Our practitioners, at our Eaton clinic near Bunbury or by telehealth, help families understand their patterns and build something better together.
Is family therapy right for us?
It is common to wonder whether your family’s difficulties are serious enough for therapy, or whether you should be able to sort them out yourselves. The honest answer is that if the way your family is relating is causing distress, it is worth getting support.
If your family is stuck in conflict, struggling to communicate, adjusting to a big change, or worried about one of its members, even some of the time, then family therapy can help. You do not need to be in crisis, and not everyone has to be on board at the start, to make a beginning.
How family therapy works
Every family is different, but there are a few things most can expect:
We start by understanding your family, what is happening, who is affected, and what you would each like to be different.
Sessions bring family members together, with the therapist helping everyone feel heard and guiding the conversation somewhere more productive than it tends to go at home. Different combinations may attend at different times.
The focus is practical and forward-looking, understanding the patterns that hurt and building better ways of relating. Where an individual is struggling, we may also suggest individual therapy alongside.
At Integro Health, our aim is to help your family feel more understood, more connected, and better able to support one another. You can read more about what to expect on our first session page.
Your questions answered
Medicare Mental Health Treatment Plans are designed for individual mental health treatment, so family therapy is generally not covered by a Medicare rebate. If individual therapy for one family member would help, that may be eligible with a GP referral. We are always happy to talk through the options and costs before you begin.
No. Family therapy is flexible, and different family members may attend at different times depending on what is helpful. A great deal can shift even when not everyone is in the room, so do not let a reluctant member stop you from making a start.
What is shared in sessions is treated with care and kept confidential within the usual legal limits around serious risk of harm. Where we meet with individual family members separately, we are clear from the outset about how anything shared is handled, so everyone knows where they stand.
Yes. We offer telehealth sessions across South West WA and Australia-wide, so you can access support from home or anywhere private, whether you are in a regional area like Manjimup or Collie or simply prefer the convenience. Online sessions work in the same structured, supportive way as in-clinic ones.
This varies with what your family is working through and how entrenched the patterns are. Some families find a focused block of sessions makes a real difference. Others benefit from longer support, particularly through a major change. We review progress with you and adjust as needed.
That is common, and it does not have to stop you. We can work with whoever is willing, and changes made by those who do attend often shift the whole dynamic. Sometimes a reluctant member joins later once they see things improving.
No referral is needed to book a session. You can contact us directly to arrange a first appointment. If you would like to access Medicare rebates through a Mental Health Treatment Plan, you will need a GP referral first, and we can guide you through that.
We draw on evidence-based family and systemic approaches, helping you understand the patterns between you, communicate better, and support one another. Where an individual family member is also struggling, we can weave in approaches like CBT or trauma-informed work. We tailor everything to your family.
