Specialist interventions to support local authorities working with parents in conflict

Published in Blog by William Walker on May 11th 2022

William Walker, Head of RPC Programmes and Development at Tavistock Relationships, explains how our direct experience supporting over 30 local authorities in England has informed the development of our specialist interventions for parents in conflict. 

At Tavistock Relationships we are proud to have a long history of training and programme development in the reducing parental conflict space. With this in mind, we are able to offer a range of evidence-based training solutions and tools to support your services to help parents in conflict in three ways:

  • specialist training in Mentalization-based Therapy, Parents under Pressure (MBT-PP)
  • Parents as Partners groupwork programme
  • Working with highly conflicted separated parents: 10-week Parents as Partners groupwork programme (PasP-SP) for Separated Parents.

Why are these intervention programmes effective?

Mentalization-Based Therapy has been shown to improve couple communication, reduce parental conflict and increase child wellbeing.

Mentalization-Based Therapy has been shown to improve couple communication, reduce parental conflict and increase child wellbeing.

Parents as Partners groupwork programme can lead to a significant reduction in violence, problem-solving between partners, significant improvements in adult mental health and significant reductions in symptoms of depression, aggression and hyperactivity for children.

Working with highly conflicted separated parents is designed for services that would like to develop the practical techniques and skills needed to intervene and manage conflict in the room. Groupworkers will develop skills in working with co-parenting couples in a group setting.

Who can undertake this specialist training?

The specialist training in Mentalization-Based Therapy has been designed for trainees who already hold a qualification in some form of counselling or therapy. This training can also be for those who have experience of working with couples in conflict or good experience of working with families in trouble.

We would recommend the Parents as Partners groupwork programme for practitioners who want to learn more about the parents’ relationship quality and would like consultation and support for set up and delivery. This four-day training programme includes ongoing supervision to support participants and provide tools to reduce parental conflict.

We are able to offer our Working with highly conflicted separated parents programme to all practitioners who have completed the Parents as Partners groupwork four-day training in the model.

Contact us

For more information, visit our Reducing Parent Conflict webpage or download the full Reducing Parental Conflict brochure.

Alternatively, reach out to any of the team directly:

  • Honor Rhodes, OBE, Director of Strategy and Development on 07957 160272 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Sarah Ingram, Deputy Directory of Strategy and Development on 07496 415605 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • William Walker, Head of RPC Programmes and Development on 07539 595762 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
  • Ben Collins, Tavistock Relationships Consultant on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

About Tavistock Relationships

Tavistock Relationships is an internationally-renowned charity for advanced practice, training and research to support couples, individuals and families.

We offer training and consultancy for local authorities and other staff who work with families to help them deliver specialist, evidence-based interventions to reduce parental conflict.

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