- Published on 15 December 2011
Only by attending to adult relationships within families will the Troubled Families Team be effective, says the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships in response to David Cameron's welcome announcement regarding the work and funding of the new Team.
Commenting on the announcement Susanna Abse, chief executive of the Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships, said: "The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships welcomes the Government's decision to set up the Troubled Families Team. The difficulties faced by the families which the new Team will help are usually multifaceted and longstanding, and it is heartening that the Government has signalled its intention to do meaningful work with families to alleviate these problems.
"For the Troubled Families Team to be as effective as possible however, a central focus of its work should be directly on improving the adult relationships within the family and between separated parents. Research shows that it is the quality of these relationships - rather than, for example, the parenting skills of each parent - which has the most profound impact on the functioning of the family unit as a whole.
"We therefore urge the Government to ensure that adult relationships are put at the heart of this vital work to improve the lives of troubled families, as this will be the most effective way to achieve lasting and meaningful results. To this end, TCCR would be delighted to offer support to the new team to help them develop research based services, drawing on our knowledge and skills, to demonstrate our commitment to improving outcomes for families."
Ends
Notes to editors: Established in 1948, The Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships (www.tccr.ac.uk & www.tccr.org.uk ) is the leading charity provider of highly specialised and affordable couple and parent counselling and psychotherapy. We also offer a range of other relationship, parenting and psychosexual support services throughout London.
You can download our publication 'A Short Guide To Working With Co-Parents: Why We Don't, Why We Should And How We Could', here.
Contact: For further information about this statement, or the work of TCCR, please contact Richard Meier, Policy and Communications Manager, Tavistock Centre for Couple Relationships on 0207 380 1964.
