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Date. 9th December 2005 Family
Support Charity Calls on Parliament to Promote
Benefits of Relationship Counselling Services The Scottish Parliament prepares for the final Stage 3 debate of the Family Law Bill next Thursday (15th December). It is expected the debate will give much attention to the provision of family support services and Mary Toner, Scottish Marriage Care's Chief Executive, says this is to be welcomed. Toner
has urged MSPs to promote understanding that
relationship counselling works for couples of all
ages and stages. She knows that the damage caused
by bitter relationships to individuals,
families and the wider community is not fully
understood. From research, SMC knows that many
couples have had relationship difficulties for up
to seven years before they seek help from
counselling. This is a prolonged, distressing time
for the adults, children and wider family. Counselling
does help unhappy relationships by
reducing stress and changing negative behaviours.
It works equally well for men and women of all
social backgrounds. Relationship counselling also
reduces work absenteeism, improves productivity
and enables couples/individuals to take on new
skills and knowledge through the counselling
process. Relationships can be helped at an early
stage or when they have drastically deteriorated.
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 children
and wider family e.g grandparents. The benefits of improved access to relationship counselling services are far reaching. These include better relationships with children, and better communication skills in the home as well as the workplace, contributing substantially to a more stable family life. From research and practice SMC knows that children thrive in the adult relationship is healthy even though the parents may be separated. SMC
recognises that the provision of Family Support
Services is key to the reform of Family Law in
Scotland. Yet couples in Scotland face a number of
different barriers to accessing the services,
including denial that a problem exists, lack of
awareness of services and how to access them, and
availability. Toner
goes on to point out "We know that better
knowledge of and access to a range of Family
Support services would strengthen families by
strengthening relationships - both the couple
relationship and the parenting relationship." November marked 40 years of relationship counselling for SMC and the charity looks forward to a bright future of delivering relationship counselling services which are accessible and available when people most need them. For further information, please contact: Mary Toner, Chief Executive Phone:0141-222 2166 |
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