Relate is a charity providing relationship support throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 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 c ...

for couples, families, young people and individuals,

sex therapy Sex therapy is a therapeutic strategy for the improvement of sexual function and treatment of sexual dysfunction. This includes dysfunctions such as premature ejaculation and delayed ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, lack of sexual interest or ...

, 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 reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...

rate was increasing. Co-founders of the Council included the Methodist David Mace (1907-1990), the

eugenicist Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetics, genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human Phenotype, phenotypes by ...

Dr Edward Fyfe Griffith and Dr Eleanor Beatrice Schill MBE. The first funder of Relate was the British Eugenics Society. Relate expanded after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with government funding secured from the

Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...

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, Baron Cameron of Chipping Norton (born 9 October 1966) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2016. Until 2015, he led the first coalition government in the UK s ...

, Deirdre Sanders,

Nick Clegg Sir Nicholas William Peter Clegg (born 7 January 1967) is a British retired politician and media executive who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2010 to 2015 and as Leader of the Liberal Democrats from 2007 to 2015. H ...

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 Chancello ...

, Charles Handy and

Alain de Botton Alain de Botton (; born 20 December 1969) is a Swiss-born British author and public speaker. 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 a Christian martyrs, martyr named Saint Valentine, Valentine, and ...

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 Charles III (then Prince of Wales) and mother of Princes William ...

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 Tanya Byron ( Sichel; born 6 April 1967) is a British psychologist, writer, and media personality, best known for her work as a child therapist on television shows ''Little Angels'' and '' The House of Tiny Tearaways''. She also co-created the ...

and Bel Mooney. 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. A separate charity, Relationships Scotland, provides similar services 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 UK's first Centre of Excellence for the study of relationships, in partnership with Doncaster College and the

University of Hull The University of Hull is a public research university in Kingston upon Hull, a city in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It was founded in 1927 as University College Hull. The main university campus is located in Hull and is home to the Hu ...

. 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. 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

References

External links

*
Government funding stated in a written answer

(former chief of the organisation)
BBC News
12/2/98 ''Why do couples argue?''
BBC News
3/8/2002 ''Spend more government money on counselling'' {{Authority control Doncaster Organisations based in South Yorkshire Relationship counseling

Relationship books

See also

References

External links