Ruby Celebrations for SMC - Families: Today and Forty Years Ago

Single person households are three times more common today than they were forty years ago. Today almost one third of households in Scotland contain a single person, compared with less than 13% forty years ago. Families forty years ago were more likely to share their dwelling with another family and over 12% of Scottish households contained 5 people, compared with around 4%.

Family support charity Scottish Marriage Care (SMC)  highlighted these comparisons in advance of its 40th birthday celebrations. Scottish Marriage Care's Chief Executive, Mary Toner also spoke about the decline in marriage and rise in divorce. In 2004 there were over eleven thousand divorces in Scotland, compared with less than three thousand in 1964. In 2004 there were just over 32 thousand marriages in Scotland compared with around forty thousand marriages, forty years ago.

Toner said that family types in Scotland have changed over the years and Scottish Marriage Care has grown and diversified to meet people's changing needs. "Scottish Marriage Care services are offered to the whole community without exception and we offer a range of relationship counselling and early intervention services to adults and young people."

Since the charity began thousands and thousands of adults, children and families have directly benefited from its service. One satisfied client, who did not wish to be named, said: "I'd like to say a big thank you to Scottish Marriage Care. I have no doubt the counsellor saved our marriage."

The charity is marking its anniversary with a reception in Parliament hosted by Robert Brown MSP, Deputy Minister for Education and Young People. The reception will be held on 23rd February. Around 200 guests are expected to attend including past and present volunteers, without whom SMC's valuable service would not happen. Toner continued: "We are delighted to be holding a celebration for our volunteers to mark our 40th and extend our sincere thanks to Robert Brown for hosting this event."

SMC is a registered charity and delivers services to the whole community without judgement or discrimination on any grounds. Our services, delivered directly via 15 local centres and counselling outlets, include:

• Relationship counselling for couples and individuals; support for those whose relationship breaks down;
• 'FOCCUS' which is a relationship inventory for couples planning to enter a committed relationship;
• 'REFOCCUS' which is a relationship MOT;
• Early intervention initiatives in relationship skills such as communication, conflict negotiation and listening;
• Specialist relationship services for young people and young parents;
• Youth counselling; and
• Accredited training courses.

Toner further points out that counselling works for couples of all ages and stages but access and availability needs to be better. Relationships can improve after just three or four visits to an SMC counsellor so this is a value for money service.

From research and its 40 years of practice SMC knows that:

• Many couples have had a relationship difficulties for up to seven years before they seek help from counselling.
• Damaged relationships do not need to end in separation, divorce or acrimony. With the right help from relationship counselling services, couples can thrive individually, as can the children and wider family e.g grandparents.
• Couples may separate but children will thrive if the relationship between adults is healthy.
• Counselling does help unhappy relationships by reducing stress and changing negative behaviours, at work and at home, and that it works equally well for men and women of all social backgrounds.
• If separating parents can maintain a good relationship with each other, then this impacts positively on the child and can improve life chances in areas such as education and health. Relationship counselling helps separating parents to achieve a more amicable split, thereby minimising the negative effects of breakdown for adults and children alike and stabilising the transition to new forms of family.
• Couples in Scotland face a number of barriers accessing the services, including denial that a problem exists, lack of awareness of services and how to access them, and availability.

SMC looks forward to a bright future of delivering relationship services which are accessible and available when people most need them. The benefits to families, to children, to the wider community and employers too will be significant.

For further information, please contact:

Mary Toner, Chief Executive
Scottish Marriage Care, 72 Waterloo Street, Glasgow G2 7DA

Phone:0141-222 2166
Fax: 0141-222 2144
E-mail: Info@ScottishMarriageCare.org

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