By Hannah Piper 

Whether you are a couple or separated and trying to co-parent in harmony, parenting can be challenging and present conflicts that can have an impact on your children. External factors such as finances, your own upbringing, work, and children’s behaviour are just a few of the things that can affect the relationship between parents. I asked one of our practitioners, Amanda Hart, about how our FREE Parenting Together course here at Tavistock Relationships works, and how it can help struggling parents.

The pandemic has been a testing time for us all. Our new YouGov survey shows just how much.

As part of our charitable mission to increase the availability of couple-focused support, we wanted to find out how the UK’s relationships have fared during perhaps the most seismic event since 1945, the pandemic.

We commissioned a YouGov survey in July 2021 of more than 2,000 UK adults, just over half of whom were in a relationship. And the results reveal how vital supporting relationships will be to the recovery of the nation. Our summary of findings presents some important messages for policy-makers and all those with a stake in society.

.John Fenna and Richard Meier

Tavistock Relationships launches its findings from a major piece of research via YouGov on the UK's relationships in the pandemic and post pandemic - 'Levelling up begins at home: the urgent need to support relationships and families in post-pandemic Britain'. CEO Andrew Balfour offers his perspective on how relationship support from the Government can help now.

Andrew Balfour CEO - 13 September 2021

Joining Tavistock Relationships having studied an introductory course elsewhere can be a big adjustment as well as a rewarding experience. Here, I have explained my observations of the journey.

[By a former student]

The pandemic has made dating difficult, accelerated some relationships by pushing people to move in together earlier than they might have, and severed many established relationships as couples are forced to confront their problems during lockdown.

As UK restrictions have eased, TV’s ‘Love Island’ has allowed us to think again about the pattern of relationships, and the choppy seas sailed in search for a life partner.

While most of us will not meet our future partner in a luxury villa in Mallorca, the relaxation of social distancing has made dating a whole lot easier; but how do you know when you’ve met ‘the one’?

Marian O’Connor, couple and psychosexual therapist at Tavistock Relationships, offers tips on finding the right life partner.

Andrew Balfour Chief Executive of Tavistock Relationships, discusses the important findings of the report "What About Me?" Reframing Support for Families following Parental Separation by the Family Solutions Group and highlights a new initiative, the Parents Promise.

Pardis Samiee, Integrative therapist & Marketing Manager at Tavistock Relationships, explains why life transitions, whether big or small, can affect our relationships.

by Catherine Hine, Chief Executive, Fastn and Marwah El-Murad, Programmes Manager, Mental Health Foundation

On Relationships and Sex Educaton in School Day, CEO of the Family Stability Network and Fastn and Marwah El-Murad, Programmes Manager, Mental Health Foundation explain why new data confirms that not only is it important for children to learn about healthy relationships in schools, parents want them to as well.

Father’s Day can bring up strong emotions for parents who have separated or divorced, and it can do the same for their children.

However, the day can be a positive experience if co-parents acknowledge the feelings it might raise, and try a collaborative approach to cope with emotions.

The good news is psychosexual therapy works!

In May 2021, in a Spotify Podcast, Karin Blak interviewed Tavistock Relationships’ Albertina Fisher, Relationship and Psychosexual Therapist, about common intimacy problems and how professional help can identify and very often fix problems with sex in a relationship. Here in a short series, we detail some of the main messages form the conversations. All text is paraphrased.

Our Head of Policy, Richard Meier explains, from a personal and professional perspective, why supporting individuals and families coping with dementia and long term conditions is such a priority for society.

By Richard Meier

There will hopefully never be another time like '20-'21, when our lives have been so confined. However, the impact of lockdown has also exposed some common challenges that couples can have, with overfamiliarity reducing the appeal of sexual intimacy. Tavistock Relationships psychosexual therapist Marian.O'Connor draws on experiences of the last year to observe the challenges, explain why they may have occurred and offer advice to help reignite sex lives in any era.

By Marian O'Connor

In its briefing on the 2021 International Day of Families, the United Nations notes that; 'families around the world are changing, many becoming smaller, as the number of single-parent households grows. The diminishing number of extended families and the increasing number of single-parent families put into sharp focus the issue of social protection.'. Here our Head of Policy reflects how policy and support can adapt in the light of this.

By Richard Meier

Tavistock Relationships, the internationally renowned charity providing couple therapy, training and research, has 120 professionals providing over 20,000 therapy sessions each year. The organisation, Tavistock Relationships, reflects on the some of the most common issues facing couples today.

By Pardis Samiee

Honor Rhodes

As we launch Between Us, our new App, designed to help couples relate better between themselves, Honor Rhodes explores why the deep need for better understanding, which is what really helps relationships thrive, is so often replaced by surface gestures and miscommunication. Often this means tools and professional help - such as we offer - are needed.

Joanna Harrison

The challenges of home-based work and schooling may be with us for some time and it feels like this is the hardest bit of lockdown yet. The strongest bonds in relationships can be tested by this. Couples therapy has proved a route to help, we have been offering a 'shorter burst' package of four, once a week sessions. Here, one of our therapists, offers advice on dealing with home schooling pressure.

Kate Thompson

To help raise awareness of the Sort It Out campaign, which aims to reduce the exposure of children to parental conflict, Kate Thompson, Head of Parenting Services at Tavistock Relationships, offers advice on dealing with family conflict.

Andrew Balfour

Tavistock Relationships is supporting the #SortItOut campaign which calls for immediate action to reduce the damaging impact of frequent, intense and poorly resolved parental conflict on an estimated 1.25million children in Britain.

Patsy Faure

The course leader for our Foundation Course, Patsy, reflects on how she, as a Black therapist, feels about events of this summer and addressing the issus of race and difference in therapeutic work.

Andrew Balfour, CEO, Tavistock Relationships

As part of Healthy Relationships Week, Andrew Balfour explains why the positive outcomes of the reducing parental conflict programmes, for families and children merit continued - or even expanded -funding.