Challenges in counselling practice

Given the steady advance of globalisation, the normality of international migration and binational family constellations, an increasing number of cases with a cross-border element is becoming part of everyday life in the help and support system for families. Many professional groups come into contact with them.

Social workers and other professionals are normally asked for advice by a parent or, less frequently, by the children concerned and by colleagues.

Yet family conflict cases with relevance to another country are seldom routine. There are different national family law and social systems and international regulations. They are highly emotional and complex. On top of this, there is uncertainty when communicating with those involved or when deciding what steps to recommend next. 

Dealing with parents and providing advice in the context of child abduction poses specific professional challenges in terms of time, language, legislation and culture.

Our services for professionals

In its capacity as a nationwide specialist agency, ZAnK supplements local contact structures for the families concerned with its own counselling service for private individuals. We will also refer people in need of advice to the relevant services available in their local area. In addition to this, we provide advice for professionals dealing with international family conflicts.

Our professional advice service is open to everyone and is particularly well used by staff members of:

•  youth welfare offices,
• advice centres,
• police/judicial authorities,
• family courts,
• lawyers,
• schools
• and mediation agencies.

ZAnK is available to private individuals and professionals on workdays via telephone consultation, email and chat.

Using our website as a professional

Whether people turn to ZAnK as private individuals or with specific questions, we would like our website to give them initial guidance on the subject of cross-border family conflicts on the one hand and to make further information available on the other hand. People are welcome to use it before as well as after a consultation.

Professionals will find additional details under “Pointers for giving advice” wherever we provide information for parents and other persons involved.

We also recommend that professionals make use of the ZAnK website as a resource if required when they are directly in contact with the persons involved. This applies in particular to our subpages suitable for reading with children or aimed at young people.

Specialist information

• Internationaler Sozialdienst (ISD) (2018):
  Handreichung zur grenzüberschreitenden Einzelfallarbeit in der Kinder- und Jugendhilfe.
  Berlin: Verlag des Deutschen Vereins für öffentliche und private Fürsorge e.V.
  (In German only).
• International Social Service (ISS) (2015):
  Familienkonflikte bewältigen. Ein Leitfaden zur internationalen Familienmediation.
  Geneva: ISS.