This article explores the process of family therapy with a Turkish-speaking singleparent family with four children in which suicidal behaviour and family violence have become the norm. The following example describes a pivotal experience early within my career as a family therapist. The universality of first, being a beginner family therapist, and second, receiving a referral of a daunting, difficult case has led me to share my experience here. Central to this article is the focus on therapeutic process as a means to navigate beyond impasse. It is my hope that those who read this article will consider taking the risk to prioritise the therapeutic relationship, even when anxiety about 'doing something' to fix the problems is high.