We provide customized, compassionate, and consent-based support for families navigating conflict, disconnection, and unhealthy relationships.
Whether challenges stem from prolonged tension, dysfunctional co-parenting, court involvement, or unresolved trauma, our approach centers each family member’s voice, autonomy, and emotional safety. We tailor our services to meet the unique needs of each family system—fostering healthier communication, rebuilding trust, and supporting sustainable, meaningful relationship repair. Our team is committed to working collaboratively and non-coercively, ensuring that support is rooted in respect, cultural humility, and the pace of each individual’s readiness. Healthy family relationships are not simply about being physically present in the same room - They are about how each Family Member relates to one another and navigates the dynamics of those relationships. Improving the health of these relationships takes time, development of trust, and a deep understanding of each Family Members’ unique experiences and needs.
Our program operates across North America both in-person and virtually.
No waitlist. Easy scheduling. Appointment reminders. Sliding scale available
Crossroads Family Support Program
The Crossroads Family Support Program provides structured, trauma-aware support for families navigating conflict, disconnection, or strained relationships. Our team works within a consent-based, child-centred framework that prioritizes safety, pacing, and readiness. We understand that rebuilding trust and communication takes time—and that meaningful progress cannot be achieved through force or pressure. Each family’s process is individualized, collaborative, and focused on creating functional, healthy relationships that respect the needs and boundaries of everyone involved.
Families come to work with our team at moments of stress, confusion, or change. Our role is to help you find steadiness and clarity—one step at a time. We don’t force closeness or quick fixes; we help create the conditions where understanding and safety can grow. Whether you’re a parent, child, or extended family member, we work with you collaboratively to support communication, reduce tension, and rebuild trust in ways that are sustainable and respectful.
Our model bridges the gap between traditional counselling and court-ordered intervention by centring emotional safety and functional/sustainable repair.
Children need stability, not sides.
We offer a structured, consent-based alternative to traditional “reunification” or “relationship repair” interventions. Our work is trauma-aware, research-informed, and clinically grounded in attachment and family systems theories. We support families in developing functional communication, emotional safety, and stability without coercion or mandated emotional outcomes. Each plan is customized to the unique circumstances of the family, and progress is measured by readiness and relational health, not compliance with timelines.
Why us?
We offer something different from traditional reunification or therapeutic intervention models. Our approach recognizes that family repair cannot be achieved through coercion or compliance. Instead, we focus on rebuilding safety, trust, and stability as the foundation for meaningful relational change.
Our team brings deep experience in supporting high-conflict and court-involved families. We understand the complexities of these systems—and we know how to help families find calm and direction within them. We help families, professionals, and systems work together without reproducing harm. Every step is structured, and grounded in ethical practice.
What is helpful to know
Forced reunification practices are often rooted in the mistaken belief that contact alone repairs relationships. These approaches assume that time together will automatically rebuild trust and affection, and that compliance—even when driven by fear or coercion—reflects a healthy relationship. In reality, such practices can reinforce unhealthy relational patterns, erode a child’s sense of safety, and foster mistrust toward helping professionals and systems. Over time, these experiences diminish—not strengthen—the capacity for genuine, sustainable, and healthy relationships.
Forced interventions often collapse the sequence of healing. They skip over the phases of preparation and stabilization and rush toward reconnection—an end-state that cannot hold without readiness. The result is often regression, escalated distress, or renewed avoidance, leading families back into cycles of blame and institutional involvement.
Consent-based support honours developmental pacing, attachment needs, and each person’s capacity to tolerate emotional closeness. The role of professionals is not to force reconciliation but to create conditions where safety makes relationship possible—conditions defined by transparency, collaboration, and respect for autonomy.
Reset Family Support Team
Our Reset Family Support Team brings extensive, specialized training and decades of combined experience in guiding families through the most complex and high-stakes circumstances. Each professional completes a rigorous 100-hour onboarding and training program. The average tenure of our team members is ten to fifteen years — and often more — of real-world experience in the field. All of our counsellors and therapists hold a Master’s degree, and many are both registered social workers and clinical counsellors, bringing a dual lens of systemic insight and therapeutic skill to their work.
We are highly skilled in supporting individuals and families who are court-involved or experiencing heightened conflict, including those impacted by family violence in all its forms — physical, verbal, emotional, psychological, financial, sexual, spiritual abuse, neglect, and coercive control. Our expertise also includes work with substance use and misuse, mental illness, poverty, homelessness, neurodiversity, and the complex realities of child protection and law enforcement involvement.
We are not a team learning how to manage complex family systems — we are a team that has spent years (often decades) immersed in this work, equipped with advanced skills to meet each family where they are, understand their unique needs, and help strengthen relationships with themselves and with one another. Many of our professionals have worked extensively within child protection agencies, law enforcement, and family services, giving them a deep understanding of how these systems operate and how to navigate them effectively.
In addition, several members of our team bring the lived experience of having been children in “high-conflict” family circumstances, navigating family law and family services themselves. This perspective deepens our nuanced understanding and reinforces our commitment to ensuring that every child has the right to their childhood — and the opportunity to identify, build, experience, and sustain healthy, supportive relationships. We believe that children should never bear the sole responsibility for repairing relationships; instead, the adults and systems around them must share in creating the conditions for compassion, safety, trust, and connection.
Every team member is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, Hear the Child Society and the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of Children, underscoring our commitment to amplifying children’s voices and protecting their rights. Whether collaborating with legal professionals, mental health practitioners, or working directly with families, we provide steady, informed, and compassionate support — even in the most contentious family law and family services matters.
Melissa
MA, MAMFT, RCC
Darlene
BSW, MA, RSW, RCC, ACS
Randeep
BSW, RSW
Talia
C.CFM, C.FRM, CIFM, PON
Amanjot
MSW, RSW
Neale
BSW, MSW, RSW
Marianne
MA, CCC
Warren
MACP, RCC, CCC, RSW
Michelle
MA, RCC
Michele
BSW, MSW, RSW
Amanda
MACP, RCC, CCC
Lurline
MA, RCC-ACS, CPT, BCRPT-S
Domonique
MA, RCC
Chaowen
MSEd, RCC
Colleen
MACP, RCC
Bill
BSW, MSW, RSW
Rana
MA, CCC, ACTA
How we work
We understand that there are many reasons why family dynamics can become strained or unhealthy. We also recognize that every individual entering our program is navigating stress, fear, and complex emotions. Our team approaches each family with an omni-partial, deeply trauma-aware, child-focused, and systems-informed lens, working to reduce conflict and strengthen relationships.
We collaborate closely with families to design individualized, adaptable approaches grounded in consent. Repairing relationships—or supporting family members when resistance or refusal is present—requires compassion and clinical precision. It also requires professionals who understand the relational and systemic factors that can lead a family member to withdraw, hesitate, or protect themselves by maintaining distance.
We know that some family members may feel an urgency to begin, while others may feel apprehensive, cautious, or fearful. Many families who reach us have endured long periods of difficulty, including involvement with agencies or court processes. Despite differing perspectives, we consistently witness a shared desire to protect and support the children. Our role is to guide your family through this process with care, integrity, and respect for each person’s experience.
We are here to work with you, not against you.
Our team is not in the business of assuming that the best outcome for family members is to become “best friends” or “spend significant time together.” Instead, we seek what is functional, healthy, safe, and supportive for each individual within the family system.
The Pace of Progress
Every family’s journey is unique. For co-parents who have been separated from their children for some time, the process may feel slow. For others—especially those feeling uncertain or apprehensive about how their children will respond—the pace may feel fast. The Family Support Program is intentionally structured to balance these perspectives, ensuring progress is both meaningful and sustainable, while respecting each person’s emotional readiness.
Co-parents are encouraged to recognize that the relationships they are building with their children during this period will shape not only their current bonds but also their children’s long-term development and future relationships. The actions taken now—even in moments of frustration, exhaustion, or uncertainty—have a lasting impact on how children experience trust, safety, and connection throughout their lives.
This period represents a critical opportunity to shift the trajectory of the family’s dynamics toward healthier, more functional, and stable outcomes.
Our Framework of Consent and Safety
Our approach is rooted in consent, because healthy relationships—and genuine healing—can only occur where consent, compassion, and safety are present. Force or coercion are fundamentally incompatible with relational repair; they not only undermine trust but can also cause lasting harm to the emotional and developmental well-being of everyone involved.
The Family Support Program is grounded in this principle. We are committed to ensuring that each client feels seen, respected, and safe throughout the process. Building trust and stability within a family system requires a foundation of safety, predictability, and participation—not pressure or persuasion.
No Forced Interactions
Healing and reconciliation happen at a pace that respects each person’s emotional readiness. The attendees of any session are determined through mutual consent among those participating.
No Surprises
All participants are informed in advance about who will be present at each session. There are no unexpected attendees or last-minute changes without consent from all involved.
No Coercion
The program is designed to create an environment where family members feel secure expressing themselves without fear of judgment, retaliation, or pressure to conform.
Many traditional or court-driven approaches to family repair rely on forced interactions or confrontational tactics to accelerate change. However, both research and experience show that these methods are often counterproductive—eroding trust and amplifying distress. Our work is guided by the understanding that authentic healing and sustainable relationship-building require consent, compassion, safety, and support.
Working Respectfully Together
While we understand that frustrations may arise, we ask that our team be treated with respect at all times. It is important to note that we do not work for any one individual, but with and for the family system as a whole. This distinction is essential to the integrity, fairness, and effectiveness of our work.
Commonly asked questions
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The Family Support Program is designed to help families navigate conflict and strengthen relationships through trauma-aware, consent-based, and child-focused approaches.
Our goal is not to force closeness or reconciliation, but to support each family member in developing safe, functional, and respectful relationships. We work toward outcomes that are sustainable and supportive of long-term emotional health and developmental wellbeing. -
Unlike traditional or court-mandated reunification programs, our approach is consent-based and non-coercive. We do not force interactions, surprise participants, or use confrontational methods to accelerate progress.
Instead, we create a safe and predictable environment where each family member’s emotional readiness is respected. Healing happens through consent, compassion, and safety — not pressure.Our goal is to find functionality and next steps forward for the family system/family members that is rooted in consent, compassion, safety and support. Functionality looks different for each family as do steps forward.
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This program supports families experiencing high conflict, emotional distance, or resistance/refusal dynamics between family members.
We work with co-parents, children, extended family members, and professionals involved with the family system to support functional, safe, and healthy relationships — whether or not all family members are ready to participate directly.
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Omni-partiality means our team does not “take sides.” We work from a stance of understanding and compassion for every person in the family system.
Rather than neutrality (which can feel invalidating) or alignment with one person’s perspective, we aim to understand and support each individual’s experience — ensuring no voice is dismissed, and no one is pathologized. -
A consent-based approach means:
No Forced Interactions: Collaborative sessions (where more than one family member is present) occur only with the mutual consent of those involved.
No Surprises: Everyone is informed in advance about who will be attending each session.
No Coercion: Emotional safety and autonomy are prioritized at all times.
This allows relationships to rebuild on a foundation of safety, trust, and genuine choice.
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Healing doesn’t always begin with everyone in the same room.
Through careful pacing, individual support, and gradual trust-building, we create the conditions that allow others to join when — and if — they are ready.
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Each child works with a dedicated child specialist counsellor who ensures their voice is heard safely and appropriately within the broader family system. Our child-focused approach prioritizes emotional safety, predictability, and respect for the child’s readiness.
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It’s common for one parent or family member to feel things are moving too slowly, while another feels the opposite.
The program is designed to balance these perspectives. We focus on progress that is meaningful and sustainable, rather than fast or superficial. This ensures that any change is grounded in readiness and resilience — not compliance or pressure. -
Within the Family Support Team, there is no confidentiality between professionals. This allows our multidisciplinary team to collaborate effectively and ensure consistent, safe care.
However, confidentiality is always maintained externally — meaning we do not share information with anyone outside the team (such as lawyers, family members, or the court) unless legally required or ethically necessary for safety reasons.
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We work with families where there may be a history of violence, coercion, or trauma.
Our team is deeply trained in trauma-informed practice and risk-aware intervention.
We do not hold joint sessions between co-parents unless both co-parents consent to a collaborative session. Even then our team may not allow for this to occur depending on the dynamic of the family or circumstances ongoing.
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There’s no set timeline — the pace depends on the family’s readiness, goals, and the complexity of their situation.
Some families engage for a few months; others benefit from longer-term involvement. The process unfolds at the speed of safety and consent, not at the speed of pressure or external timelines. This allows for the opportunity to develop a meaningful, sustainable and supported shift in circumstances.
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Families communicate with our team solely via email between sessions at the Family Support Program email address provided to them.
Sensitive matters should be discussed within scheduled sessions whenever possible, to ensure the full context and support of your team are available.Please note that lengthy written materials or documents should only be submitted when requested by the team.
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It can be helpful to come with an open mind, a willingness to reflect, and any questions or concerns you’d like to discuss. Remember — this process is not about blame or “proving a point”; it’s about building a more functional, stable, and compassionate future for your family.
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Many families in our program are also involved with the court system, child protection agencies, or legal professionals. Our team is familiar with these dynamics and works carefully to ensure that our role remains therapeutic, not adversarial.
We operate as a support program, not an investigative or evaluative service. Our focus is on improving relational safety, communication, and functionality within the family system—not on determining who is “right” or “wrong.”
We collaborate, when appropriate, with other professionals such as:
Family lawyers
Parenting coordinators
Child specialists and counsellors
Social workers
Court-appointed assessors or case managers
Any communication with outside professionals is done with consent, transparency, and in alignment with the program’s consent framework.
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In some cases, families are referred to the program under a court order.
We cannot change court orders, and the expectation is that family members follow them by engaging with us.
However; we do determine how we support family members so even when a referral originates from the court, our work remains consent-based in session.
We will meet with all parties to review what participation looks like and ensure that every person’s voice, readiness, and safety are considered before beginning any joint work.
Absence and refusal to engage in our services is documented.
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Our team follows clear ethical and legal obligations regarding safety and reporting.
If we learn of harm, potential harm, or ongoing risk to a child or adult, we are legally required to take appropriate steps, which may include notifying the relevant agency or authorities.
We do so, where possible, in a collaborative and transparent manner, engaging the individual or family wherever possible to support safety planning and emotional containment. -
We don’t practice “neutrality” in the traditional sense. Instead, we maintain omni-partiality—a stance that honours and understands the experiences of all family members.
We recognize that in high-conflict or court-involved situations, individuals often feel unheard, misrepresented, or invalidated. Our job is to ensure that each person’s perspective is understood, contextualized, and supported, without colluding with harmful narratives or minimizing safety concerns.
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We strongly direct clients to ask legal professionals the questions they have regarding legal matters.
Our program is therapeutic, not strategic. While participation may demonstrate a family’s commitment to improving relationships, our focus is not on legal outcomes—it’s on relational health, child wellbeing, and safety.
We encourage all participants to view this process as a support for the family, not as evidence for or against anyone in legal proceedings.
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Yes, but only within appropriate boundaries. Lawyers may communicate with our administrative or clinical leads to confirm participation or request general program information.
However, we cannot share client details, session content, or progress notes without written consent from all relevant parties.
Our communications with legal professionals are factual and limited to what is necessary for coordination—not advocacy or opinion.
Connect with us.
Mandatory Onboarding Process
Inquiry form (each co-parent)
Each co-parent hoping to enter our Crossroads Family Support Program must complete an inquiry form. The inquiry form provides us with an overview of basic information for your family.
It can be found here: https://forms.gle/BqbNaQDUTwFMsqDk8
Intake Session
Our Crossroads Family Support Program requires a mandatory intake session (separately) for each parent.
Intake sessions are $249 per hour, and there is one (1) intake per parent.
They are one (1) hour in length and completed virtually/online via Zoom.
Our team provides each parent with a digital invoice in advance, which can be easily paid online. Each co-parent is responsible for paying their intake session fee in advance, and they can reimburse one another as necessary.
Cost-sharing disclosure
The co-parents provide documentation of an agreed-upon or court-ordered split of costs for which each is responsible. From this point forward, our team can split costs according to the agreed-upon or court-ordered split.
This documentation will be provided within five (5) business days of the request.
Onboarding fee
The $999 mandatory, non-refundable onboarding fee is due following the intake sessions.
Our team provides a digital invoice in advance to each parent, which is easily paid online. This can be split per the co-parents’ agreed-upon or court-ordered split.
Document disclosure
Our team may request that you disclose specific documents. If requested, we expect them to be provided within the timeline we have asked for, and in the event a timeline is not provided within five (5) business days of the request.
We frequently work with families who have had court involvement, law enforcement involvement, and/or child protection agency involvement. We will request document disclosure of the following:
All orders by way of court (this also includes consent orders)
All awards by way of arbitration
All determinations by way of a parenting coordinator
All mediation summary reports
All formal diagnoses of the children
All s. 211 reports conducted
All s. 211 report updates conducted
All Hear the Child reports conducted
All Voice of the Child reports conducted
All IEPs for the children
All occupational therapy assessments conducted
All written recommendations by way of Child Protection Agency
All report/file closure letters by way of Child Protection Agency
All written recommendations by way of Law Enforcement Agency
All written recommendations by way of indigenous elders
Professional disclosure
We request specific information regarding professionals who have worked with the family so that our team has a holistic view of what has led the family to us and how we can support the family.
The Co-Parents will provide our team with the following information within five (5) business days of our team requesting it or by date/time that our team otherwise directs:
Any mental health professionals who have worked with the Child(ren) in the past, and/or are working with them currently - Full name, professional designation, contact number, contact email
Any medical professionals who have worked with the Child(ren) in the past, and/or are working with the Child(ren) currently - Full name, professional designation, contact number, contact email
Any conflict dispute resolution professionals (lawyers, elders, pastors, counsellors, parenting coordinators, mediators, arbitrators etc.) that have worked with the Co-Parents to resolve co-parenting matters - Full name, professional designation, contact number, contact email
Any current co-parenting counsellors that are working with the Co-Parents individually or collaboratively - Full name, professional designation, contact number, contact email
Each Co-Parent will provide a list of the aforementioned professionals digitally via email to familysupport@theco-lab.co or a link to a Google Drive where they are housed for download by our team.
Consent to release information
Our team requires parents to sign a consent to release information form for each child so that we can freely connect with and support children with their past and current professionals. It is not in children’s best interests to have many professionals supporting their family who cannot speak to one another. It is also important that if our team is supporting the co-parents to improve their co-parenting partnership, that we have visibility to the Child(ren)’s circumstances, support and needs. This is to support resolution and not for litigative purposes
Service agreement
Our team provides a Crossroads Family Support Program Service Agreement that each co-parent must sign before proceeding. The Agreement details how the service will be provided and the expectations of all involved.
It is sent to the co-parents digitally and is signed electronically.
Administrative support
Our team administration is highly trained to support the families and circumstances of those directed to our services.
There is a mandatory monthly administrative fee of $299 per family in our Crossroads Family Support Program. This fee is charged on a subscription model with each parent’s credit card on file (and can be split by the percentage each parent is to pay for our services). If administrative time dedicated to your file exceeds two (2) hours per month, you will be charged $149 per hour for the overage.
The Co-Parents will be charged the above rates for any time our team members spend meeting with the Co-Parents, phone consultations, email correspondence, reviewing and drafting documents, consultation with our team members or other professionals, travel time, reading, writing and editing any reports or updates about your file, and any other professional time spent on your file.
Administration activities typically completed by our coordinators include but are not limited to scheduling matters (including rescheduling, and cancellations), coordination of appointments for clients and team members, billing, and creation of receipts and statements for finances including any clarification or requests that require admin time, reading and replying to emails for administrative purposes, document creation and production for any updates/reports from our team, and any other administrative tasks relating to your family. Incidental fees may be billed, including photocopying, faxing, and postage etc.
Professional support outside of sessions
Our professionals charge their time at a $249 hourly rate outside of sessions if they are required to provide additional support, connect internally to support the child(ren) or family. An example would be a counsellor attending an IEP meeting for a child, or meeting with the co-parent’s parenting coordinator.
Reserve fund
Each family must provide a reserve fund of $2999. These funds are used to pay professional hours and/or administrative hours outside of the sessions, and include 2 hours of administrative support per month.
Our team provides a digital invoice in advance to each parent, which is easily paid online. This can be split per the co-parents’ agreed-upon or court-ordered split.
The reserve fund is not used to pay for sessions unless a co-parent refuses to pay in advance. It will be drawn from for administrative time/costs and non-session professional time/costs. It will also be utilized if either party stops payment, but there are outstanding professional tasks that must be completed, such as writing a closing report. The reserve fund will not be used for sessions otherwise.
Each time the reserve fund reduces to $1499, the co-parents are expected to replenish it to $2999 within seven (7) business days. Our team provides each Co-Parent with a digital invoice in advance, which can be easily paid online. The amount can be split per the co-parents’ agreed-upon or court-ordered split.
Crossroads Family Support Team Professional Selection
We will select and suggest the appropriate professionals on our team to support your family. You are welcome to suggest who you are interested in working with; however, we solely maintain the ability to advise who is available/able to support them.
CFS sessions
Session fees are $249 per hour.
Reduced rates will be considered; however, they are not guaranteed. Our team appoints the professional(s) most appropriate for the co-parents, your child(ren), and the family’s circumstances and needs.
We can split session fees by the applicable cost-sharing split that co-parents have in place. Sessions are paid in advance of occurring. Our team provides a digital invoice to each co-parent, which is easily paid online.