Professionally accredited counsellor

Counselling for a better life

Fremantle Counselling Service is the practice of Fergus Matthews B.A., MAASW, a qualified Social Worker and professionally accredited counsellor.  The practice offers counselling for individuals, couples and families.  Fergus has been counselling for over 25 years and has extensive postgraduate training in the various forms of family therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy and other counselling techniques.

  • 1200+ Sessions Practised
  • Over 200+ Varying Clients

Fergus Matthews

Fergus has specialist skills in working with individuals, couples and families in a wide range of issues.  These issues can be as diverse as working with an individual with depression and anxiety, to working with a couple to get over an affair.  Or it can be working with a family to deal with issues or trauma, illness, loss and grief, to an individual struggling with a crisis at work.  

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What I do

Services

Fergus works predominantly within a ‘systems’ framework, but varies this with a number of complementary clinical approaches. His practice reflects the reality that many people don’t come to counselling for long periods of time, so he works in a way to attempt to achieve outcomes as soon as possible. His work always includes very ‘concrete’ strategies on how to manage the various issues better.

01.

Individuals

Sometimes life isn’t easy and at those times it’s important to know that you’re not alone. Our individual counselling provides a one-on-one approach to assist you in situations and with circumstances such as:

  • Depression
  • Assertion and self-esteem
  • Sexual abuse and incest
  • Family violence
  • Addiction and dependence issues
  • Anxiety and obsessional disorders
  • Workplace issues such as coping with injury or rehabilitation
  • Life change
  • Managing conflict
  • Grief and loss
02.

Couples

Counsellors don’t make judgements on who is right or wrong; they don’t tell clients what to do; and they don’t try to persuade people to stay together or to separate. They are there to help. Couple counselling can help your relationship in a range of ways. These include:

  • Understanding the relationship you currently share
  • Rediscovering why you were attracted in the first place
  • Finding out what you now want from their relationship and from each other
  • Understanding how you contributed to whatever your relationship has become
  • Discussing what you feel about each other now
  • Discussing what you are prepared to do to make your relationship work.
03.

Families

There are a range of topics that often form the focus of family therapy. Identifying these focuses can help families to heal and reach resolutions. These topics include:

  • Decision making
  • Managing negotiation and conflict
  • Issues with in-laws, friends and extended family members
  • Coping with the transition to parent-hood and other life changes
  • Affairs
  • Sexual problems
  • Parent-child conflict
  • Marital breakdown and separation
  • Assisting couples deal with the impact of difficult working arrangements – such as fly in-fly-out or shift work
  • Step-family problems
  • Family violence and
  • Life crises and change.

Medicare Rebates

Fergus is an accredited Mental Health Social Worker.  This means that your GP can refer you through a Mental Health Plan and that a proportion of the fee can be claimed from Medicare.  The referral must be in place prior to the appointment to claim the refund.