90 Minute Couples and Family Counselling Sessions Trial

In 2022, RA Tasmania offered longer sessions for couples and family therapy. This new model was implemented as a result of staff feedback and emerging evidence about best practice in couples’ counselling.

The offering was initially trialled for three months to measure whether there was a change in the Family and Relationship Service delivery towards better therapeutic outcomes for clients.

Feedback was sought from counsellors, frontline workers and senior practitioners during the trial to inform the analysis and findings. These findings included:

• Longer session times permitted the use of additional therapeutic interventions
• More time was spent building rapport with the clients
• Clients did not feel rushed during their sessions and could expand upon their concerns
• The session time could be split according to client needs, e.g. 30 minutes for each partner, and 30 mins to come together.

Across the four ongoing sessions, it was clear that the practitioner was able to conduct the session in a greater depth than the previously-allocated 60 minutes.

…preliminary findings suggest improved therapeutic outcomes for clients using 90-minute sessions.

Although the feedback was mostly positive from clients, practitioners reported that majority of existing clients were not as willing to commit to the longer sessions. New clients were more likely to commit, as they had no previous experience with the shorter sessions or different fee structures.

The trial’s sample size was small due to practitioners’ pre-planned leave, public holidays, and clients’ reduced interest in longer sessions due to the additional cost. However, preliminary findings suggest improved therapeutic outcomes for clients using 90-minute sessions.

The next step for this trial is to explore this option across the Family and Relationship Service whilst offering the option of longer session at the practitioners’ discretion in collaboration with the client.