Relationships & family
Controlling or coercive relationships shaped by intimidation, isolation, affection that comes with conditions, or restrictions on money, contact and everyday decisions.
Specialist counselling & consultation in Sydney, Australia
When staying, questioning or leaving all carry a cost.
The Exit Clinic works with people affected by controlling or coercive relationships, cults and high-control groups, controlling religious or ideological environments, and harmful relationships or practices in workplaces, businesses, coaching or therapy. This can include online communities and influence that becomes difficult to step back from.
We help you make sense of what’s happening, work through the effects and develop realistic options. You can begin while still involved, considering change or rebuilding afterwards.
Counselling · Social work
Lived experience · Professional consultation
Support
Support that fits your situation.
For people directly affected, those close to them, and professionals working with these situations.
Individual
counselling
For people directly affected
One-to-one support with fear, guilt, grief, self-doubt, a shaken sense of who you are and the practical demands of staying, leaving or rebuilding.
Together, we work on trusting your own judgement again, strengthening boundaries and making decisions you can revisit as circumstances change.
Family
consultation
For relatives and close supporters
For relatives, partners and friends concerned about someone’s involvement in a relationship, group, belief-based community or online space.
We help you make sense of what is happening, consider ways to keep communication open and set workable boundaries, taking account of safety and the possible effects on the relationship.
Professional
consultation
For practitioners seeking another perspective
Case consultation for counsellors, social workers and other practitioners considering controlling relationships, high-control groups or harmful uses of authority.
We help clarify what is happening, separate evidence from assumptions, assess what can reasonably be concluded and consider case formulation and next steps within agreed limits. Consultation does not replace your own clinical, safeguarding or legal responsibilities.
Before booking, we check whether we can meet your needs and suggest other support where we cannot. Consultation is not an assessment or treatment of an absent person.
Our approach
You,
what’s around you,
and what is possible.
Understanding, recovery and practical change often need to happen together.
We look at your experience alongside the relationships, rules, information and resources around you — what shapes the choices you have and what you can actually do.
Where we start depends on your priorities and what is possible now.
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Understand what’s happening
Look at who sets the terms, and what happens when you question or refuse. Consider which outside views or support you still have access to, what you risk losing if you change your involvement, and whether concerns can actually change the arrangement.
This helps distinguish isolated incidents from recurring patterns and identify what makes change difficult.
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Work through the effects
Work with fear, guilt, grief, self-doubt, losing your sense of who you are, relationship strain and the effects on everyday life.
Rebuild trust in your own judgement, needs and values. We also consider how current pressures and earlier experiences shape your responses.
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Build workable options
Find outside views you can trust, realistic alternatives and practical support, so you can act on your choices or reconsider them later.
Planning takes account of safety, housing, income, care responsibilities, family ties and community. Options need to be workable in your actual circumstances.
Work begins with your account, priorities and circumstances. Goals can be questioned and revised as the situation changes. Support continues whether or not you take on a particular label, or decide to leave.
Our team
Professional training.
Lived understanding.
The Exit Clinic was founded by JT Kua, a counsellor, and Isabel Pham, a social worker.
Both have lived experience of spending more than a decade in a high-control group and rebuilding life after leaving. This informs their understanding of how a person’s sense of self, relationships, beliefs, trust in authority and practical needs can become tied together.
JT Kua
Counsellor
JT holds a Master’s in Counselling. His structured, direct approach helps clients make sense of complex experiences, recognise patterns and develop practical responses.
He considers both the personal effects and what’s going on around you, including the relationships and practical conditions that may help or hinder change.
Read JT’s profile
Isabel Pham
Social Worker
Isabel is a qualified social worker with experience in child protection, domestic violence and asylum seeker support. Her approach is warm, direct and closely attentive to relationships.
She works with people recovering from controlling environments and trauma in relationships, helping them make sense of what happened, regain choice in their lives, reconnect with their own judgement, needs and values, and rediscover joy.
Read Isabel’s profileContact
Start with a
brief enquiry.
Send a brief enquiry telling us what brings you here. If your needs appear to fit our services, we’ll arrange a free 15-minute introductory call to understand your situation, answer initial questions and explore whether working together feels right. This is an initial conversation, rather than a counselling session.
If we agree to proceed, we’ll guide you through the initial paperwork and booking your first appointment. If another service would better meet your needs, we’ll suggest alternatives or help with a referral where possible.
Do I need to know exactly what happened?
No. You don’t need to have it figured out — we can make sense of things together. The initial work can focus on understanding the situation and deciding what kind of support may be useful.
Can support begin before someone leaves?
Yes. Support is available while someone is still involved, uncertain about change or managing the consequences of leaving. You don’t have to leave to get support.
What about session format and fees?
Include any questions about location, online options, session length, availability or fees in the enquiry. These details can be clarified before booking.
Enquiry
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