The safety and well being of your children and yourself will be the sole most important factor and with the majority of the clients we work with, the Mother is the primary carer of the children but may also be the parent that requires supervised visits, in which case you have come to the right service.
LINK Children’s Contact Service is a specialist service that primarily works with concerns around family violence. This includes where the children have been witness to or have lived in a hostile environment where family violence often causes fear, intimidation and control.
Often we hear traumatic stories of women’s lived experiences of family violence and the negative impact it has had on your psychological, emotional and physical wellbeing. Family Violence can reduce the capacity and the extent to which you can be the best parent you can be due to the impact of family violence. Therefore, you will be pleased to know from the outset LINK promotes positive healthy relationships and interactions. With the majority of our clients there is no contact between the Mother and Father, however, any type of denigration towards the other parent is considered unacceptable. Furthermore, the supervised parent is encouraged to remain child-focused which prevent any adverse attempts to control or manipulate.
LINK Children’s Contact Service has worked extensively with Father’s or significant others who have been separated from their child(ren) and to develop meaningful and long-lasting relationships that help form positive Child attachment. Research has shown this will contribute to your child’s positive development, growth and wellbeing.
Therefore, LINK works with parents and significant others who require supervised visits and ensures;
- There is compliance with court based dispositions
- Safety of the primary parent is maintained by placing rigorous parameters for visitation, this includes requirements with any court based orders should this be in force.
- All interactions with the child, the supervised parent and primary parent are respectful and child focused.
- In 90% of the cases we work with, the supervised parent and the primary parent have no contact and LINK makes all necessary arrangements to ensure this is maintained.
- Where it is safe and in agreement LINK advocates assisted changeovers which occur towards the end of the supervised visits to help with transition to non-supervised visits
If you are experiencing any concerns with regard to family violence, mental health, coping or need someone to talk to, please refer to the below resources;
- If it is an emergency please call triple zero
- Safe Steps – 1800 015 188. 24/7 family violence response centre
- Domestic Violence Resource Centre – Provides information, advise, support and resources for support Australia Wide. https://dvrcv.org.au
- Life Line – Provides crisis support and suicide prevention. Call 131114 24/7 Crisis Support.
- Beyond Blue – Talk to a trained mental health professional, 1300 22 4636 24 hours / 7 days a week. https://www.beyondblue.org.au/get-support/get-immediate-support
Refer to your GP, they can discuss a Mental Health Treatment Plan which entitles you to Medicare rebates for psychological intervention.
Your workplace may provide EAP (Employee Assistance Program) which is generally a charge-free counselling service. Your workplace may provide support for employees who are victims of family violence.