Reducing parental conflict, reducing loneliness

Published in Blog by Andrew Balfour on May 10th 2022

The theme of this year’s Mental Health Awareness Week is loneliness. But while relationships might not be the first thing we think of when we bring the word loneliness to mind, anyone who has been in a challenging relationship – particularly as a parent – probably understands that it's possible to feel extremely lonely even when you are surrounded by those who are dearest to you.

Helping parents in conflict

Throughout our history, and in particular during the last five years with the delivery of the Government's Reducing Parental Conflict programme, we have been supporting local authorities by providing direct support to parents to reduce conflict.

The results from our mentalization-based therapy for parents have been striking, with outcomes for parents including improved couple communication and reduced violent problem-solving. Perhaps even more tellingly though, over half of parents have told us that their children's well-being has improved as a result of the help they have received. 

And of course, when parents communicate better, they feel less alone. And when parents know that their children are feeling better about themselves, there is less anxiety and stress in the household. 

I am pleased that we are continuing to support parents across the country through our comprehensive range of Reducing Parental Conflict trainings, consultations, evaluations and bespoke support for local authority practitioners.

Local authority training to reduce parental conflict

Right now, supporting parents feels more important than ever. While the influence of Covid-19 may be easing, families face new pressures from cost of living rises. Encouragingly, the Government has recently given funding to local authorities to help reduce parental conflict, signalling its ongoing commitment to addressing this aspect of far too many children's experience.

Tavistock Relationships stands ready to support local authorities to help parents across the country through our comprehensive range of Reducing Parental Conflict trainings and digital tools.

Contact us

Find out more about our training programmes and digital resources for local authorities to support parents experiencing conflict.

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Andrew Balfour

by Andrew Balfour

Chief Executive

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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