About this service:

Family centres: free, non-clinical therapeutic support for children, young people and their parents or carers. This includes one-to-one sessions, therapeutic play, parenting support, family work, groups and home visits. Parenting programmes, including Circle of Security, Parents Plus, Triple P, Incredible Years and Non-Violent Resistance (NVR). Assessment centres: initial assessments for families that Tusla social work refers, where the concern is low or medium risk. Dublin Safer Families Service: whole-family work after domestic, sexual or gender-based abuse.

Who can use it:

Children and young people aged 0 to 18, and their parents or carers. The centres help with worries such as behaviour, anxiety, bereavement, separation and loss, trauma, domestic violence, and a parent’s addiction or mental health.

How to access the service:

Family centres: self-referral accepted. Parents and carers can refer themselves. Professional referrals accepted from schools, GPs, health services, Gardaí and other services. Ring the centre to talk it through. The referral form is on docchildandfamily.ie, under Our Services. Assessment centres: Tusla social work refers. We cannot refer a family for an assessment. Dublin Safer Families Service: referral only from social work services or the Probation Service.

Telephone and access details:

Turas Springboard Family Centre (Darndale): 01 877 1716 or 01 877 1713 St Benedict’s centre (Kilbarrack): 086 035 3821 or 086 035 3822 Lisdeel Family Centre (Santry): 01 862 5195 Dublin Safer Families Service (Santry): 01 862 7700

Email contact details:

turas@docharity.ie (Darndale); stbenedicts@docharity.ie (Kilbarrack); lisdeelfc@docharity.ie (Santry); admin@docharity.ie (management office)

Website information:

docchildandfamily.ie

Support for families of children with additional needs:

Family centres help with worries such as behaviour and anxiety, and run parenting programmes including Non-Violent Resistance (NVR), which many parents of neurodivergent children find useful.

Good to know:

No fee. Assessment centres and the Dublin Safer Families Service take referrals from Tusla or Probation only.

Source directory last updated: October 2026. Contact the service to confirm current availability and details.