Family counts. It's where you start. It shapes you, nurtures you, and quite possibly exasperates you more than any other group you know.

You could easily spend most of your lifetime living in families and even when you live separately, you can find yourself organising your life around family commitments.

The interesting thing is that families are so different. Your family might include one generation or five, one parent or many, lots of siblings or none, people connected through blood ties or people brought together by choices, circumstance or legal relationships.

Whatever collection of people you might think of as your family right now, the make up of that group will change over time. The inevitable process of family members maturing requires your relationships to grow and develop as well.

Family transitions require you to adapt. Sometimes those changes are part of a natural process. Sometimes they are a cause for celebration, and sometimes they feel like a loss. Simply acclimatising to the change stretches your capacity for flexibility.

Families are complex systems. They are an important influence in your life. They can provide some of the most challenging situations you ever face. This section of the website will delve into some of those challenges.

We'll explore some different kinds of families including families that are living apart. We'll look at some common family transitions and some strategies for approaching them. Use the feedback form at the bottom of this page to let us know what you most want to know about families.

What is it that makes someone 'family'? What do you have in common? Do you expect something from each other that you might not expect from your friends? If you're wondering what family means to you, and what influence your family has in shaping your life then you may find some thought starters here.

All families struggle at times. Get people closely involved in each other's lives and you get a bit of friction. Of course families also generate warmth and intimacy and a sense of connection. If you want ideas about how to smooth out some of the rough bits, and put the shine on the good bits on your family, then these links may be just what you're looking for.

Families with Children have their own special character. As parents your life changes in ways you never imagined possible. Kids are great. They remind you of the joyful, playful scramble of your own childhood. They also depend on you to be reasonable when they're not; to be responsible while they goof off; and to be loving when you feel like spitting tacks.

The following links investigate some of the issues you'll face in a family with children.

Families Living Apart :Separation, Divorce and Finding New Family Structures. Many families are finding their own ways to be a family even though they live apart. When parents separate, that's about the adult relationship between the two of them. Children whose parents part still need their family. They need robust relationships with their parents.

These links explore strategies families can use to build loving resilient family relationships that don't depend on living together.

Families with Teenagers commonly experience a bit of upheaval. Teenagers are busy growing and changing and trying out the world around them. It can be infuriating, frustrating and scary for teenagers and parents alike. The following links offer some strategies for building the best relationships you can in your family during this time.

Families with Multiple Generations are very common. Ideas of what's important and what's fun and what's acceptable can vary enormously between different generations in the same family. It can be complicated to keep everyone well connected and aware of each other's needs. These links start to explore some of the issues that arise for families who stretch across the generations.

Christmas is supposed to be fun. And often it is. There's probably time off work and that's usually a good thing. There's the food and the presents and the catching up with family you might not have seen for a while.

And then there's the mad rush to get everything ready, and having too many people underfoot, and the stress and the tension and the arguments...

Here are some ideas about how to have more of the fun and less of the stress at Christmas. Have a look at the tip sheet, it comes as a colorful poster you can download and put on your fridge.