The Families and Friends of Missing Persons Unit provides a free and confidential counselling service. FFMPU believe that by reaching out for support the experience of having someone missing might become a little easier.

FFMPU is the only service of its kind in Australia that provides specialised therapeutic support to families and friends of missing people.

The counselling service responds to the ambiguous or unresolved loss that follows the disappearance of a loved one. This type of loss is not commonly experienced in the community and people often speak of a sense of isolation and confusion when faced with a loss that is can be temporary or permanent.

FFMPU uses the national counselling framework 'Supporting those who are left behind' when engaging with families and friends of missing people. The framework was developed following a Churchill Fellowship in 2006 that explored the international approach to unresolved loss. The framework is useful not only for service providers but for families and friends wanting to understand better the impact of 'missing' on their lives. The framework, published by the Australian Federal Police National Missing Persons Coordination Centre, can be downloaded here or a kit containing the framework and an instructional DVD can be ordered free of charge from missing@afp.gov.au

When a person reaches out for support or counselling from FFMPU they can expect the following:

• Support at the time of disappearance
• Ongoing emotional support either face to face, via the telephone or via email
• Practical support to identify which agencies may be able to assist a family to coping with their loss
• Strategies to cope with the physical and emotional challenges faced when a person remains missing
• Guidance and support in dealing with search agencies
• Information and referral for legal issues relating to missing persons
• Family reunion work when the missing person has been located and wishes to be reunited with family members
• Support for families where the missing person is located but does not wish to resume contact
• Coronial Support and liaison
• Bereavement support following the location of a deceased missing person (FFMPU refers families for grief support 4 weeks after the resolution of the investigation)
• If you contact the service for advocacy support you may be asked to sign a consent form to allow the unit to contact other agencies (such as the Police or the State Coroners Office) on your behalf. The consent form can be downloaded here. If you do not wish to sign this form this will not affect your access to the FFMPU counselling service.

• Normalise the impact of an unresolved or ambiguous loss by helping you understand the experience.
• Identify practical or emotional supports that you or your family may require
• Explore the impact of unresolved loss in a safe environment
• Identify some strategies to cope while the missing persons case is unsolved
• Provide support during times of reunion, location or Coronial intervention
• Link families with other people who have experienced similar losses.