The purpose of child expert counselling is to help parents with issues relating to having children together whilst not living together. The counselling may cover any number of things, depending on the specific needs of the parents and child, e.g. disagreement about custody, residency, or specific situations regarding the child.

Emphasis is on solving problems and making possible agreements in a way that is in the best interest of the child. The counsellor focuses on the child's situation, putting the child's point of view forward and offering advice as to what is best for the child. 

The counselling may cover any number of things, depending on the specific needs of the parents/child. This might be needs like:

• Help to arrange a contact agreement.
• Counselling on how to improve co-operation or communication between the parents.
• Counselling on how the parents best can help their child, or what is in the child’s best interest regarding a family situation, during contact or other situations.

The child expert counselling can in many ways help parents to discuss matters in a constructive way, which is beneficial for the child. The counselling can help improve the parents’ co-parenting skills for the future.

Child expert counselling can help parents:

• To improve co-operation and communication.
• Understand each other and the child better.
• Identify and solve disputes/disagreements from the child’s point of view.
• Arrange specific agreements on e.g. contact, communication, or co-parenting.

Application for child expert counselling for parents

All parents not living together can apply for child expert counselling. The application is to be sent to the Family Law Administration – for further information see below.

When one parent applies for child expert counselling, the other parent will be informed and invited to a meeting. Child expert counselling is voluntary, and each parent decides themselves if they want to join or not.

The purpose of the counselling is best achieved when both parents attend and work towards improving their co-operation for the benefit of the child. In cases where only one parent wants counselling, the Family Law Administration will provide counsel for that parent.

The Family Law Administration asserts which counselling works best for each specific family.

Child expert counselling is also available for children and youngsters whose parents are not living together.

Counselling gives the child a place to speak freely with an adult about thoughts, feelings, problems, and obstacles in a situation where their parents do not live together. The counselling can help and support the child through its thoughts and feelings, and how to handle them.

The child decides what subject the counselling will focus on. The counselling can be useful for children who are occupied by their family- or life situation. It varies how occupied children can be of their situation and how they need to talk about their situation.

Parents are usually given general feedback from the child expert counsellor after the child has attended counselling. Parents do not have a claim to know what has been talked about at the session. The child and counsellor can collectively decide if and what the child wants the counsellor to report of their session back to the parents. The child and the counsellor will also decide if the child comes to a session with the parents.

Application for child expert counselling for children

Parents will often ask for counselling for their child when they are themselves in counselling. Parents can also apply for child expert counselling for their child, without attending themselves. The child counsellor will always speak with the parents before scheduling a session for the child.

Parents who think their child would benefit from child expert counselling can apply at the Family Law Administration. For further information on how to apply, see below.

The child expert counsellor asserts with the parents, if the child has the right age and is sufficiently mature to attend counselling, and if counselling is suitable for the child.

The Family Law Administration cannot offer child expert counselling while simultanously processing a (different) case regarding contact or residence with the same child. 

In the case of an active case at the Family Law Administration parents can be granted child expert counselling when

• the case is closed – That is when the parents have decided on the residence of the child or contact, or the Family Law Administration has reached a decision on residence of the child or contact, or when the case work has stopped for some other reason.
• the case is on hold – That is, when the case work regarding contact or residence of the child is put on hold until the child expert counselling is concluded. In these situations, the parents can ask for the Family Law Administration to assign temporary contact or decide where (with which parent) the child will live, while attending child expert counselling.

Further information on contact and the procedure in contact cases and about residence of a child is availble on this website.

Information brought forward during counselling sessions will not be passed on to use for a possible future case or to use in any other case (if the parents for instance have a case regarding residence or contact on hold) unless upon the parents request. Neither will the information brought forward in counselling be passed to other authorities, unless upon the request of the parents or the child, or if the information falls under the counsellor’s obligation to report.

The child expert counsellors are experienced social workers and psychologists with specific experience in family matters, and in counselling separated parents and their children.

The counsellor is subject to confidentiality. Information brought forward during sessions will not be passed on to a legal caseworker or other authorities, unless upon the request of the parents or the child; or if there is a case of exception to confidentiality.

If you want to receive child expert counselling, please contact the Family Law Administration, either by e-mail famf@famf.fo or by post at Family Law Administration, Dr. Jakobsens gøta 21, 100 Tórshavn.

The application must include

• Name, phone number and email of both parents
• Name and age of shared child/children

If the parents wish other people in close relation to the child, e.g. foster parents, or caregivers, to attend the counselling, their information must be enclosed in the application, that is

• Name
• Relation to the child/children

One parent can apply for child expert counselling for both parents. The other parent will be informed and invited to join. If the other parent declines the invitation, the Family Law Administration will evaluate if the counselling continues with only one parent.

For further information see leaflet When co-operation is Challenging which provides good advice for parental co-operation and an explanation of the consequences it may have for children if parents struggle to co-operate.

If you would like more information, you can contact the Family Law Administration at tel. 20 22 24 or by email at famf@famf.fo