To grow, to flourish, to prosper
To grow, to flourish, to prosper
Functional Family
Therapy (FFT)
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Functional Family Therapy (FFT) is a whānau-centered service available to tamariki, rangatahi, and their whānau across Aotearoa.
FFT is built on a foundation of acceptance and respect. It works with the whole whānau, including important extended whānau members, to improve communication, and create positive change.
How it happens
We come to you. Sessions are typically undertaken at home but can be conducted in a setting you choose (such as a marae or at school). Kaimahi generally meet with whānau for 12 to 14 sessions across three to five months.
Is Functional Family Therapy available to my whānau?
We offer FFT in Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki Makaurau, Waikato, Taranaki, Tauranga Moana, Taupō, Hawke’s Bay, Manawatū-Whanganui, Lakes/Central Otago, Dunedin, and Southland.
Three types of FFT offered
The standard FFT programme is available to whānau of rangatahi aged 11 to 18 years across the country. FFT helps to address emotional and behavioural challenges in tamariki and rangatahi by focussing on the unique strengths within each whānau.
FFT - Child Welfare (FFT-CW) is available in Te Tai Tokerau, Tāmaki Makaurau and the lower South Island, and is designed for families of tamariki aged from 0 to 18 years. FFT- CW also addresses a range of issues, and has been adapted to meet the specific needs of tamariki and rangatahi across the full range of youth development.
Pae Whakatupuranga is available to whānau based in Tāmaki Makaurau. Referred young people are aged 10 to 24 years. Pae Whakatupuranga works with the whole whānau to help rangatahi stay out of the justice system and break the intergenerational risks of justice involvement.
Pae Whakatupuranga has been specially designed with Māori and Pasifika therapeutic frameworks woven through, so that our kaimahi are able to meet the cultural needs of all referred whānau.
Whaitake Whakaoranga Whānau is our Māori therapeutic approach created by our Kaumātua Pita Te Ngāru and developed by Kia Puāwai kaimahi. The therapy is steeped in Māori cosmogony, a source of mātauranga and tikanga Māori. Utilising the wisdom of the takarangi, there are 11 guiding principles that enable kaimahi to deliver tikanga-informed practice.
Uputāua is a Pasifika therapeutic engagement framework which recognises that every Pasifika nation is unique, with its own identity, values and practices. Using the Uputāua framework, our kaimahi can understand and respond to the individual and collective needs of Pasifika whānau.
Our Māori and Pasifika therapeutic approaches
Whaitake Whakaoranga Whānau is our Māori therapeutic approach created by our kaumatua Matua Pita Te Ngāru and developed by Kia Puāwai therapists. The therapy is steeped in Māori cosmogony, a source of mātuaranga and tikanga Māori. Utilising the wisdom of the takarangi there are 11 guiding principles that enable therapists to deliver tikanga-informed-practice.
Uputāua is a Pasifika therapeutic engagement framework, which recognises that every Pasifika nation is unique, with its own identity, values and practices. Using the Uputāua framework, our therapists are able to understand and respond to the individual and collective needs of Pasifika whānau.
Our Stories
An FFT practitioner will help my whānau by:
Building a trusting relationship with us in which we are respected and listened to.
Helping to decrease hostility and conflict within our whānau and increase hope and positive relationships.
Focusing on the strengths of our whānau and the things we do well, to address the things we find difficult.
Reducing or eliminating difficult behaviours by improving family functioning and the development of new skills.
Focusing on building a network of ongoing support for our whānau so that we can tackle new situations with confidence.