Relate Avis 

My wife and I booked an appointment with a counselor at Relate Hampshire for 2pm on the 15th. The counselorr did not call. So we emailed to say they didn't call. It's now the 20th and we have had no response from the company and they have taken £90 from us which we want back. Do not use!!

I have clearly understood what it means to be vulnerable.. thank you very much

Trying to find my path after a relationship

The introductory process has been clear and informativf. We're waiting for a series of appointments now

I thought that the article was very well put together, supportive and honest. It was reassuring to read that what I was thinking w as actually "a thing", that I wasn't being unrealistic. My wife and I find this extremely difficult, because underneath all the upset we love each other dearly. Thank you for giving me the strength and confirmation to move on.

After reading this.
It made a lot of sense and made me look at things differently
Even tho it still hurts,I'm looking forward to a fresh start

after failed sessions not given . what do we do ? our phone calls are not answered (or even hung up on when we hide our number) emails are not responded to .. We have chased for more than 30 days and basically given up . i doubt we will ever see our money again . This is not a negative for the councilors but the organization "Relate" just seems to be a skimming service charging councilors for referrals and doing nothing else

I'm having ongoing therapy elsewhere, where we touch many different topics, but I wanted another take on a specific issue that was torturing me and making me very anxious. I thought the 1 hour one-off session could be of great help. I'll have to admit, after booking I found the reviews here in Trustpilot and I was quite disappointed, as many weren't great. I thought of cancelling, as it wasn't cheap and was unsure of the service. I'm glad I didn't. Jane was fantastic and just what I needed. A very listening, respectful, and intelligent therapist. We really made great use of the 1 hour session, and she even sent me more material via email. The space really helped ordering my ideas and feelings, and thinking in ways forward

Made the situation worse...

One assessment, one starter session for family therapy then nothing. Traumatic doors and wounds have been opened, had salt applied, then the councillor disappeared and not having ease to book another. Now left with one stressed family member being messed around by company. AVOID.

My experience was not as positive as I had hoped for unfortunately.
I was contacted by an organisation affiliated to military veterans experiencing relationship issues with the offer of six sessions with RELATE, which I and my children's mum accepted. We were struggling to co-parent, our relationship having ended fairly amicably around 10 years ago.
The outcome, following some quite basic process, was that we should be open with each other rather than trying to manage each other to keep things on an even keel for the sake of the children.
I became more open about my relationships including that with my partner. In turn my children's mother instantly became very cold and conveyed that my children no longer want contact either by WhatsApp which we'd enjoyed daily, or holidays which we'd enjoyed 2-3 times each year.
I've moved with my partner from Horsham to Penrith, 370 miles north to allow the children access to me and my family without relying on their mum's involvement. Unfortunately they no longer respond to my messages, invites or birthday gifts. The mum insists on contact with her via email only but does not respond. Social services have said the situation is not serious enough to intervene.
It's the worst outcome I could possibly have imagined unfortunately.

Initial contact was easy & well organised. Unfortunately the only in person sessions available were limited times and not local to us. My partner would rather talk to someone in the room. It's a shame as I'm sure there are others who feel like this. It seems relationship counselling is yet another area that has suffered from lack of funding & resources.

I've read many online advice articles on Relate website. They consistently offer wise and helpful advice. I'm a mental health professional myself, and consider this a great mission that Relate has. Many thanks.

I have a mixed review about relate.

Went for couples counselling my partner and I. The therapist we saw was great! Couldn't fault her. Unfortunately, the relationship did not last.

However, the admin staff or who organise the counsellors. Are not helpful. I'm not sure if relate is a franchise, or how it is run. But the staff appear to run it like a business such as a hair dressers, instead of a service being used by vulnerable people. They are polite, but not very mindful that if you are contacting relate that you are probably not in a great place. so a little more empathy and understanding and signposting would be nice.

I get its not a mental health or crisis service, but for a company who help people connect and communicate they may want to get their staff on some training. Wait times are vague, with no updates for example 3 weeks. ( which is a long time to wait if your relationship is on the rocks) .

emails left unanswered, when my partner and i ended it, we were told we would be reassigned due to ethics (which i get ). But no time frame given, no contact and my ex waited a month i waited 8 days. Again it was a horrible break up. and we were just left out in the cold, not signposted to even Samaritans or NHS or Mind. Not even their own national website. apparently they are different, which i find odd. I asked about an online service advertised on their website and told that it was not an option in the Plymouth branch but a national one. Right ...so if someone responds to an email does it matter if they are in Plymouth or Dubai, no not really as long as you are getting support.

And when asked about what policy they had in place for reassigning, the response was that there is one. I did complain about this and timeframes where not adhered too. But i got a very untherapeutic response, which said we have no mental health policy, which i get its not that sort of service but if someone phones up in tears, I'm sure even if your staff haven't had any training ( which they said there staff had none in the admin part) at the very least signpost them! If the staff at reception have no training ... well train them! a basic suicide course lasts a day. Even the GP receptionists have training what sort of response is that? I am not a mental health professional but even i know safeguarding and signposting and i haven't been trained either! At the end of the day i think its an normal reaction to be upset or distressed that your relationship has broken down.

I could go on. But the gist is the counsellor we had was great but don't expect any clarity on wait times empathy or contacts if you are in struggling. Although from my complaint they said they have put some information in the waiting room and updated the forms. Slightly worrying that they where not already in there !!!!!

Also unlike other counselling services where you can contact your counsellor directly to change appointments for example, you have to use the reception team, who then have to contact the counsellor and that can take 3-4 days. Then they get back to you, you cant do that date then it starts again. Then you have to tell your partner, as they only tell one of you so you are back and forth.

Just and odd attitude and service. with poor communication between the clients. Adds more stress to a stressful situation.

i recommend googling couples counselling and looking for your own who is professional and registered as it may be quicker and you may get a better service.

Back in December I booked a session before Christmas and we were told over email that this would be at 8pm, the therapist didn't turn up, we looked at the link and the link said 6pm. Since then I have been trying to get a refund or credit and book more sessions and no one is resolving the issue, this is beyond poor. Give me my money back!! Its a real shame because we really like our therapist but it seems we are not able to access her and the admin team is a shambles, I can never get through to anyone on the phone and they ignore my emails.

very helpful topic

The article about supporting a loved one while they are grieving, has been so helpful for me and my partner. It explained beautifully and accurately the feelings we are both having and that it's quite normal for the person on the outside to feel pushed out and helpless.