Lessons from Australia: developing a new counselling service for families when someone is missing. My chance to make a difference

This report aims to inform the development of a new therapeutic counselling service for families of missing people in the UK. The themes that are explored in this report are drawn from a visit to Australia in April of this year, where I had the privilege to meet with counsellors, families, academics, and police working with families. I also explored some of these themes further from 'missing' and counselling literature. At Missing People, we know that the emotional support available for families is just not enough to help families through the most painful of experiences. My experience in Australia inspired and humbled me. I was inspired to hear how services can make a difference to families: to help them cope; to help them carry on. I hope the lessons I have learned will, in some small way, help the team at Missing People to develop our services to make a difference to families. Time will tell.