Family and Child Consultants

  Slow is Not the Same as Stuck By Niki Gent In a world that values speed, productivity, and efficiency, it’s easy to believe that slowing down means falling behind. In our sector — community services, mental health, trauma recovery — this mindset shows up everywhere: in the urgency of systems, in the pressure to ‘fix’ clients, and even in our internal narratives about how healing should look. But here’s what I’ve learned — both from my clients and from my own personal growth: Slow is not the same as stuck. We tend to think of progress as a straight line: goal set → plan made → action taken → success achieved. But real human development doesn’t work like that. Especially when trauma, loss, or chronic stress are involved. Progress often looks like stopping. Sitting. Breathing. Coming back to your body. Grieving what’s been lost. Re-evaluating everything you thought was true. Sometimes it even looks like going backwards — repeating old patterns, questioning your choices, doubting you...

  Protecting Our Children Without Losing Hope:  A Message for Families in Challenging Times By Niki Gent, Family & Child Consultants Like so many parents, carers, and professionals across Australia, I was deeply shaken by the recent news out of Victoria: two men—(and I use that term loosely)—charged with multiple offences against children of a sexual nature. Stories like these cut right to the heart of every parent’s greatest fear. They force us to confront the unthinkable and leave us asking: How do I leave my child in someone else’s care and trust that they will be safe? As a mother, grandmother, a social worker, and someone who has dedicated a career to supporting families through trauma, I want to share a message of both caution and hope. The world can be a frightening place, but it is also full of love, laughter, and genuine goodness. We must not let the actions of a few rob us of our faith in humanity or our children’s right to a joyful childhood. If there’s one piec...

Stop Micromanaging. Start Trusting. Micromanagement is the workplace equivalent of clenching your jaw. It’s tight, it’s controlling, and it’s exhausting — for everyone involved. It says to your staff, "I don’t trust you to do your job," even if that’s not what you mean. In community services, where the work is emotional and complex, this becomes especially damaging. When we micromanage, we reduce practitioners to checklists. We rob them of clinical judgement. We create environments where fear overrides initiative. Micromanagement is often born from anxiety. We fear something will go wrong. That the client will be harmed. That the report will reflect poorly on us. So we try to control every outcome. But in doing so, we create something worse: a disengaged, unmotivated workforce that does the bare minimum. Trust is risky. But it’s also the foundation of growth. When you trust your staff to own their work, they rise to the occasion. They take responsibility. They innovate. They ...

  From Fear to Trust: How Supervised Access Services Can Rebuild Family Connections By Niki Gent, Family & Child Consultants When families reach out to me about supervised access services, there’s often a heaviness in the air—an unspoken fear that things are “too broken.” I hear it in the voices of parents who worry they’ll never see their children again, and in the questions of kids who just want to feel safe. If you’re reading this and feeling that weight, I want you to know: you’re not alone, and things can get better. Why Do Parents Choose Supervised Access? Supervised access (sometimes called supervised contact) is a service that allows children to spend time with a parent in a safe, supportive environment—while a trained professional is present. Families might use this service for many reasons: Family conflict or separation:   Sometimes, emotions run high and communication breaks down after a separation or divorce. Safety concerns:   There may be worries about a...