Successfully assisting a self represented client

A Judge’s Associate called our Sydney WDVCAS  Family Advocacy Support Service (FASS) worker to attend court to assist a self-represented client who was experiencing high levels of distress in the final hearing.

The client was part way through giving evidence and was needing frequent breaks from cross-examination due to her understandable distress.

Our FASS worker provided court support which included trauma informed emotional support and grounding and emotion regulation exercises. This greatly assisted the client and allowed the cross examination to be finalised. During the final hearing, the Client was approached by the other party’s legal representative regarding proposed consent orders.

The FASS worker assisted the client to connect with FASS Legal for advice and based on this, the client chose to continue with the hearing. At the cessation of the final hearing, the FASS worker debriefed with the client about her experience, discussed safety planning and made warm referrals to financial counselling as well as mental health supports.