Family Counseling is the name given to the counseling service within the framework of Family Law. It helps the people to overcome, in a more comfortable manner, the problems that, from the point of view of relationships, the family has during marriage, separation and divorce, and the problems the family has  with children and on family related personal or interpersonal issues.  The family counseling aims at minimizing the moral destruction of the families of the differently developing individuals as from the beginning of this situation, procuring a quick adaptation for them, and rendering the utmost support to them in such a struggle. It contributes to the families’ getting over the process of accepting their children who are disadvantageously growing up, as they are and with lesser problems. This situation also helps the families to act in parallel and together with the educators during the developmental process of their children. For this reason, the family counseling unit that renders service at the Special Education School and Rehabilitation is considered to have been giving a service within the framework of an important mission.  Also, at SEF, the Family Counseling Unit serves as a unit procuring the necessary coordination regarding the development and supportive activities for the individuals developing differently. Furthermore, the other additional services given under the control of this unit are presented here below:

• Individual Counseling:  The individual counseling, first of all, is a scientific and systematic assistance given by professionals, in the process,  to minimize the situation experienced by the individual whose child is developing and growing up differently,  to get him/her gained necessary abilities in problem solving, decision making, self gaining of information and knowledge, to develop thereby keep the abilities and sufficiency of the individual to their highest levels, and to enable him/her to adapt himself/herself to the environmental circumstances, as a learner in a natural and social “reality” that comply with the concept of self, in order to continue a meaningful and happy life (Özoğlu, 1977; s.50,51).

• Group counseling: The group counseling is a psychological counseling service aiming at; increasing the awareness of the thoughts, behaviors, images, dreams, inner conflicts and relationships of the individuals whose children growing up or developing differently have been a common matter and, in short, all the life-related aspects affect individuals and groups in positive and/or negative direction in a secure circumstances or atmosphere where the awareness is examined by one or more of the specialist group leaders, and also at experiencing new behaviors enabling individual development.

• Relationship-Marital Therapy:  Ideally, the thing expected from the relations is its being able to meet both parties’ wishes and requirements. Whereas, in the relations of the families that have children who have been developing differently, the situation may turn out to be a system working to the disadvantage of either one or both of the spouses. Finding a solution to the problem in their relationship by two people is very difficult. In such cases, there is a need for a third person’s and professional viewpoint.

At this point, the relation-marital therapy helps:

• Individuals to be more aware about their wishes and requirements,
• The system to work for the benefit of both sides by being aware of the wishes and requirements of the system,
• Eliminating the problems through evaluation of “the status of the present relations” beside the history and future of those relations.
• To end the problems healthfully, at the point where the problems cannot be removed.