Therapeutic Family Support
Enhancing your family’s connectedness through curiosity and understanding.
Listen, Understand, Support, Create, Connect, Enjoy, Thrive.
Parenting and raising children can be hard work. Likewise, learning, growing and developing from a tiny dependent infant to a fully functioning, independent adult is also hard work. And during those times that we may feel most challenged, tired or misunderstood, disconnections in our relationships can occur.
The aim of Connect & Grow Therapeutic Family Support is to gently and patiently nurture families through these times of disconnect by increasing the understanding that all family members have of each other – the age and stage of their development, the functioning capability of their brain, their motivation to parent the way they do, their ability to reflect on the impact of their behaviour choices and parenting choices and the small wins that each person can achieve along the way.
Support Services
Parenting assessment & coaching
This is an intensive intervention aimed at families who require a high level of support understanding the needs of the family and implementing any changes that they identify may improve their family dynamic.
Therapeutic family support
This is a support option which allows for a mixture of family sessions and individual sessions as well as parenting sessions if required.
Family mediation
This support option is aimed at reconnecting the family and repairing fractures in the relationships through individual and family sessions that can allow for the identification of current barriers.
Small groups
In the new year, Connect and Grow will begin to offer trauma-informed small groups. These are likely to have particular focus areas which may include Healthy Relationships, Integrated Play Groups and Self Identity. Please return to my website in early 2022 for more information regarding which small groups are on offer.
School information sessions
In 2022 Connect and grow would be excited to share with your school community (staff and/or parents) information and support regarding topics such as Age-Appropriate Boundaries and Expectations, Repairing and Healing from the Covid-19 Pandemic or Common Challenges for Children and Parents. Please make contact with me via email if this is something that your school would be interested in.
To learn more about these services please get in touch or visit the Support Types page.
Mission.
At Connect and Grow, our mission is to be understanding, supportive, gentle, curious and adaptable in our aim to enhance your family's connectedness with each other.
Experienced, trusted, support.
I’ve been working to support children, adolescents and families in Geelong for the past 15 years and I remain very motivated and passionate about meeting individuals at the point that are currently at and assisting them to achieve the goals that they are motivated to achieve. I have supported young people in the criminal justice system, young people and their carers in the Out of Home Care system and children, adolescents and families through local schools and community agencies. I am well versed in the areas of child and adolescent development, the impact of childhood trauma on brain development, the impact of trauma on parenting capacity, the identification of family violence and the risk assessments and safety plans often required for women and children and the assessment of the safety and wellbeing of children and young people.
I have completed a Bachelor of Social Science (Psychology) and am currently completing a Masters of Clinical Family Therapy. The list of professional development training that I have completed over the last 15 years is extensive. Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Positive Psychology, Strength Based Parenting, Family Systems Theory and Trauma Informed Practice all underpin my therapeutic sessions with individuals and families.
I will work with your family in a very flexible and adaptable way, including family mediation sessions, individual sessions, in home support, education sessions on challenge areas.
— Jessica Novak
Therapeutic Specialist
BA Social Science (Psychology)
Get in touch.
If you feel like now is the right time for you and/or your family to connect and grow, please complete the following form and I will make contact with you within two business days.
If you are a professional who would like to refer a family and/or discuss the referral further, please complete the following form and I will make contact with you as soon as possible.
Connect & Grow welcomes people of any age, gender, sex, sexuality, culture, religion and ability.
Connect & Grow acknowledges that we are privileged to live, gather and grow on Wadawurrung Country. We pay our respects to Elders past, present and emerging and we pay our respects to all Aboriginal and TSI families who we support. We recognise that this was and always will be Aboriginal land and that they hold the traditions and the culture for all Aboriginal and TSI peoples across the Country.