Consultation · Sydney & online
Worried about an online world taking over?
Support for how you respond, not a plan to control what someone believes.
Consultation for families concerned about radicalisation, conspiracy communities or online influence. Look at what you have noticed, how you communicate, your boundaries and possible support.
Changed beliefs alone do not establish illness, coercion or a risk of violence.
What has changed, and what worries you?
You may be concerned about withdrawal from relationships, pressure to spend, hostility in conversations or increasing involvement with a creator or online community. Begin with specific changes rather than a label for the person.
We consider what you know directly and what remains uncertain. We do not infer someone’s needs, motives, diagnosis or level of risk from their political or religious views.
You do not have to win every argument.
A consultation can help you consider how discussion is going, what happens when concerns are raised and what expectations you place on contact. You can maintain your own views and boundaries without making every conversation a contest.
We also consider what the online environment provides and whether there are other workable sources of connection or support. Removing access or issuing ultimatums is not a standard recommendation; consent, safety, age and context matter.
What we can work on with you.
Separate disagreement from harm
Distinguish a view you oppose from observed threats, coercion, exploitation or a significant change in how someone manages everyday life.
Plan communication and boundaries
Consider how to discuss concerns and manage your own involvement without pressuring the person to agree with TEC’s view.
Identify appropriate support
Clarify when general family consultation is suitable and when youth, mental-health, digital-safety or specialist violence-related support is needed.
Specialist concerns need specialist services.
We do not monitor devices, investigate online activity, formally assess violence risk or treat an absent person. We do not advertise specialist child or adolescent treatment. Acute distress, threats and safeguarding concerns may need services beyond family consultation.
If you are concerned about involvement in violent extremism, Step Together offers specialist support and referral information. TEC does not provide formal violence-risk assessment, counter-terrorism work or a deradicalisation programme. In immediate danger in Australia, call 000; do not wait for an enquiry response.
Common questions.
Can you tell me whether they are radicalised?
Not from a label or a brief second-hand account. We can clarify observations and concern, but a formal assessment is not this service.
Will you help me change their political beliefs?
No. We focus on your communication, wellbeing, boundaries and responses to specific harmful behaviour or safety concerns.
What if I am concerned about violence?
Do not rely on an ordinary enquiry for risk assessment. Step Together provides specialist information and support for violent-extremism concerns; call 000 for immediate danger in Australia.
Further information.
- Step Together — support and advice
A specialist starting point for concerns about involvement in violent extremism; not an emergency service.
- eSafety Commissioner — echo chambers and your feed
An explanation of how algorithms select what appears in your feed and how to think about the information you see.
Service information from The Exit Clinic. These pages are not an assessment of you, another person or a group. External resources offer other perspectives; they do not establish the facts of your situation.
The Exit Clinic
Founded by JT Kua, Counsellor, and Isabel Pham, Social Worker.