Published in Blog by Andrew Balfour on September 5th 2022
Tavistock Relationships’ CEO Andrew Balfour believes extending relationship support more widely will help larger numbers of families and children lead happier lives.
All the evidence shows that partners who enjoy good quality relationships are better able to support each other and their children through difficulties. Conversely, the impact of sustained, intense and unresolved couple conflict is damaging to the mental health and wellbeing of the individuals, families and their children.
Around 60% of the people who come to our clinical service for help with their relationship are experiencing mild to moderate depression.
Relationship problems are also closely linked to mental health, particularly depression – in fact, our research indicates that around 60% of people who come to our clinical service for help with their relationship are experiencing mild to moderate depression. Relationship problems also impact on people’s productivity and levels of absence from work.
We know that relationship therapy works, and not just for the couples involved - it benefits children and wider families too. Our highly trained therapists support thousands of couples and individuals every year, but I think we can be doing more.
As an organisation we are constantly evolving to reach out to more people. In recent years we have developed partnerships with charities, local authorities and the NHS to deliver evidence-based interventions to people from diverse backgrounds, right across the UK. Our latest innovation has been to offer support on a digital platform.
Our Between Us app features communication exercises and videos to help couples find better ways of talking to one another and resolving arguments.
Our Between Us app features communication exercises and videos to help couples find better ways of talking to one another and resolving arguments. It is designed to reduce stress, improve communication and help with problem-solving and sexual difficulties. It is a light-touch but robust tool to help people struggling with relationship problems and is rooted in a therapy we developed for the NHS.
As couples face pressure from the cost-of-living crisis it is more important than ever that we invest time in our relationships. Our Between Us app offers anyone with a smartphone practical, down-to-earth relationship advice when they need it, wherever they are.
We are currently working with a number of local authorities to offer the app to communities, and we have plans to offer it through employee assistance programmes.
If you would like to know more about how we are working with organisations to deliver our therapy to wider audiences, please contact us using the form below or email
Andrew Balfour, Chief Executive of Tavistock Relationships, originally trained as a clinical psychologist at University College London and then as an Adult Psychotherapist at the Tavistock & Portman NHS Trust, whilst in a staff post. He then trained as a Couple Psychotherapist at Tavistock Relationships, where for more than 10 years he was Clinical Director before becoming CEO in 2016. He has many years’ experience of working psychotherapeutically with couples, developing new projects and conducting research.
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10 New Street, London, UK, EC2M 4TP - Tel: 020 7380 1975
Registered Charity Number: 211058. Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology.
Company number: 241618.
10 New Street, London EC2M 4TP
Tel: 020 7380 1975
Registered Charity Number: 211058. Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology. Company number: 241618.