Relate is a charity providing relationship support throughout the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
. Services include
counselling
Counseling is the professional guidance of the individual by utilizing psychological methods especially in collecting case history data, using various techniques of the personal interview, and testing interests and aptitudes.
This is a list of co ...
for couples, families, young people and individuals,
sex therapy
Sex therapy is a strategy for the improvement of sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunction. This includes sexual dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation or delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual interest or arous ...
, mediation and training courses. Relate also offers online services including webcam counselling and a therapeutic based LiveChat service.
It was founded in 1938 as the National Marriage Guidance Council, after a clergyman, Herbert Gray (1868-1956), noted that the
divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...
rate was increasing. Co-founders of the Council included the Methodist David Mace (1907-1990), the
eugenicist
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
Dr Edward Fyfe Griffith and
Dr Eleanor Beatrice Schill MBE. The first funder of Relate was the
British Eugenics Society
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
. Relate expanded after the Second World War with government funding secured from the Home Office and later the Lord Chancellor's Department in the late 1940s. Relate celebrated its 75th birthday in 2013. Relate holds an annual lecture with previous speakers including
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron (born 9 October 1966) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005 to 2016. He previously served as Leader o ...
,
Deirdre Sanders,
Nick Clegg
Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British media executive and former Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom who has been president for global affairs at Meta Platforms since 2022, having previously been vicep ...
,
Alan Johnson
Alan Arthur Johnson (born 17 May 1950) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Education and Skills from 2006 to 2007, Secretary of State for Health from 2007 to 2009, Home Secretary from 2009 to 2010, and Shadow Chanc ...
,
Charles Handy
Charles Brian Handy CBE (born 25 July 1932) is an Irish author/philosopher specialising in organisational behaviour and management. Among the ideas he has advanced are the " portfolio career" and the " Shamrock Organization" (in which professi ...
and
Alain de Botton
Alain de Botton (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and philosopher. His books discuss various contemporary subjects and themes, emphasizing philosophy's relevance to everyday life. He published ''Essays in Love'' (1993) ...
.
Relate adopted its current name on
Valentine's Day
Valentine's Day, also called Saint Valentine's Day or the Feast of Saint Valentine, is celebrated annually on February 14. It originated as a Christian feast day honoring one or two early Christian martyrs named Saint Valentine and, thr ...
1988. In the 1990s, Relate's public profile increased after
Princess Diana
Diana, Princess of Wales (born Diana Frances Spencer; 1 July 1961 – 31 August 1997) was a member of the British royal family. She was the first wife of King Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William and Harry. Her ac ...
became its patron in 1989. The current President of Relate is Prof. Janet Walker OBE. Former Presidents of Relate include Professor Sir Cary Cooper and comedian and writer
Ruby Wax. The current Patrons of Relate are
Tanya Byron and
Bel Mooney
Beryl Ann "Bel" Mooney (born 8 October 1946) is an English journalist and broadcaster. She currently writes a column for the ''Daily Mail'', having previously written – mainly as a columnist – for other publications including the ''Daily Mirro ...
. Current Vice President is Anjula Mutanda (elected 2018) and Author of How to do Relationships.Anjula Mutanda elected President of Relate November 2021.
Today, Relate sees over 150,000 clients a year, at more than 600 locations across the UK. Relate is a federated charity with Relate Centres operating across England, Wales and Northern Ireland with its sister charity Relationships Scotland operating in Scotland. In 2017, Relate merged a third of its Centres into the national charity in response to funding cuts.
In 2006, Relate opened the
Relate Institute
The Relate Institute is a department of Doncaster College, based at the High Melton campus, providing courses in relationship studies at various levels. It is a collaborative project between Relate, Doncaster College, and the University of Hull. ...
, the UK's first Centre of Excellence for the study of relationships, in partnership with Doncaster College and the University of Hull. The Relate Institute closed in 2015.
Baroness Tyler of Enfield was Chief Executive between 2007 and 2012 and was succeeded by Ruth Sutherland; Tyler is currently a Vice President of Relate. The current CEO is Aidan Jones.
Relate was a founding member of the Relationships Alliance which was launched in 2013 in partnership with OnePlusOne, Tavistock Relationships and Marriage Care.
Relationship books
Other publications
Relate booklist
See also
*
Loving kindness
( he, חֶסֶד, also Romanized: ) is a Hebrew word that means 'kindness or love between people', specifically of the devotional piety of people towards God as well as of love or mercy of God towards humanity. It is frequently used in Psalms i ...
*
Marriage
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...
*
Outline of relationships
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to interpersonal relationships.
Interpersonal relationship – association between two or more people; this association may be based on limerence, love, solidarity, regul ...
*
Relationship education
Relationship education and premarital counseling promote practices and principles of premarital education, relationship resources, relationship restoration, relationship maintenance, and evidence-based marriage education.
History
The formal orga ...
References
External links
*
Government funding stated in a written answer(former chief of the organisation)
BBC News12/2/98 ''Why do couples argue?''
BBC News3/8/2002 ''Spend more government money on counselling''
{{Authority control
Doncaster
Organisations based in South Yorkshire
Relationship counseling