Family counselling service, 2009

The family counselling offices dealt with 30 500 cases in 2009; about five per cent more than the year before. The largest increase in the number of cases was in Region Middle: 6.1 cases per 1 000 inhabitants, which represents an increase of nine per cent from the year before. Region East had most cases; almost 11 900, which is 6.7 per 1 000 inhabitants. Region North still has most cases in relation to number of inhabitants, i.e. 7.9 per 1 000 inhabitants. As in previous years, Region West has the lowest number of family counselling cases; about 5 per 1 000 inhabitants.

Women often initiate contact, but they rarely come alone

In 68 per cent of the cases, a woman contacted a family counselling office, but men are also represented in the cases. Forty-four per cent of the 90 000 sessions in 2009 included a partner. Former partners took part in 13 per cent of the sessions, and children under 18 years of age took part in 4 per cent.

In 2009 there were 24 500 new cases. In 30 per cent of these cases, the primary client reported that strengthening the relationship was the main reason for the enquiry. About 26 per cent of the clients contacted a family counselling office to get help to strengthen collaboration concerning child/children with a former partner, and 11 per cent needed help to clarify whether the relationship will continue or not.

For most of the new cases (61 per cent), the first session was held within a month of the primary client contacting the family counselling service. The average waiting time to get a session has increased, from 26 days in 2008 to 29 days in 2009.

There were about 22 900 closed cases in 2009, and 42 per cent used less than two months from the first session. The average treatment time after the first session was 132 days for the cases that were closed in 2009, compared with 127 days the previous year.

Employment

In 2009, the number of man-years in the family counselling service was 432.4. A comparison of the number of family counselling positions and inhabitants per county shows no major variations in the regions from 2008 to 2009 with respect to the number of man-years per 10 000 population. Region North is still on top, as in the three preceding years, with1.3 positions per 10 000 inhabitants.

The family counselling offices also provide information, courses and guidance, and the total number of man-hours spent on this was less than 18 500 hours; a decrease of 15 per cent from 2008.

The national child welfare and family counselling service spent almost NOK 309 million on family counselling in 2009; an increase of more than 7 per cent from the previous year.

The family counselling offices are the core unit in the Norwegian mediation service, and mediation is a major task in the family counselling service. Read statistics on mediations for parents in 2009.

Tables:

• Table 1 New cases in the Family counselling services, by the primary clients sex and reason for inquiry. Total and Region. 2009
• Table 2 Family counselling services, new cases, by period of waiting, region and county. 2009
• Table 3 Family counselling services, closed cases, by duration, region and county. 2009
• Table 4 Family counselling services, counselling sessions, by region and county. 2009
• Table 5 Family counselling services, by status per 31 December 2009, region and county. 2009
• Table 6 Family counselling services, by main actions in the counselling, region and county. 2009
• Table 7 Family counselling services, by man-hours spent on counselling sessions, region and county. 2009
• Table 8 Family counselling services, by primary client's age, gender, marital status and employment status. Total and region. 2009
• Table 9 Family counselling services, and topics in all cases. Total. Region. 2009
• Table 10 Key figures family counselling service. Figures for 2009 and 2008
• Table 11 Figures family counselling service. Figures for 2009