Relate Press Releases
JAN 10 / Relate’s response to Labour Green Paper on Families
Claire Tyler, Chief Executive of Relate, the UK’s largest provider of relationship counselling, said:
"Relate is delighted to see a number of strong commitments in this green paper – we have waited eleven years for it. We know that there are increased rates of divorce and separation among couples raising a child with a chronic illness or disability and we welcome the commitment to fund relationship counselling for these families.
“We are delighted with commitments that echo our own manifesto calls: more training to be given to frontline professionals on how to support couple relationships and who to refer couples to; and courses available to separating parents to help them parent with their ex and put their kids first.
“We also welcome the promise to provide more online resources to support couples whose relationships are starting to experience problems. However the missing piece of the jigsaw is more therapeutic support made available to help couples who are in trouble and want to prevent their relationship breaking up. Research in this green paper highlights that over 50% of separated people said they feel they could have done and wished they had done more to prevent their relationship breakdown.”
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For further press information contact Mel Merritt Press Officer Relate 020 7554 2892 /07971 869735 / mel.merritt@relate.org.uk
Notes to Editors
Last week the three leading relationship organisations, Relate, One Plus One and The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, included in their Relationship Manifesto, five calls to politicians:
1) Building on relationships skills within education. Research shows (GRIT, The Young Foundation, 2009) that whether you can get on on with other people is as important as academic achievement in determining whether you get on in life. Education should encourage teamwork, communication, self-disciple and resilience to help children flourish in the real world.
2) Ante- and post-natal services need to prepare new parents for the effects a baby can have on their relationship. 65% of couples say their relationship got worse after the birth of a child, the opposite of what most couples believe will happen! Being prepared for this, knowing the warning signs, and where to turn for help if it’s needed, would help more couples buck this trend, and prevent relationship breakdown.
3) Our relationships affect every area of our lives. Yet frontline workers such as health visitors, GPs, teachers and social workers don’t receive the right training to help with relationship issues. Training needs to be provided on how to support couple relationships and who to refer people too.
4) There is huge unmet need for therapeutic services to help prevent relationship breakdown, improve relationships, and encourage better post-separation parenting. These services should be accessible via GPs, schools, Children’s Centres, and large employers, as well as ‘in the high street’.
5) Local Authorities are key to making all of the above happen – preventing relationship breakdown and improving relationship quality where possible can improve health outcomes, educational performance, and reduce anti-social behaviour and child poverty. Local Authorities will save money for a minor outlay.
• Relate’s services extend beyond couple counselling to family counselling, counselling for young people, online counselling, sex therapy and relationship skills workshops
• Relate works in schools, primary care settings, prisons, and with local authorities on homelessness prevention services
• Relate supports 150,000 people each year in over 600 locations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Relate has a work-force of 2,000 people nationwide
• For more information and advice visit: www.relate.org.uk