A registered charity.
Did you know that nationally Relate is the largest counselling organisation in the UK? Impressed? Then we're sure you would like to find out more about us!
At least 64% of the population have heard of Relate but have no understanding of its wide range of services. Its our aim to bring Relate to you, to ensure you are fully aware of every professional service we have to offer and to give you the assurance that we guarantee you the best confidential service possible.
Relate employs over 2000 qualified counsellors, working in locations throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
For more details of the work we do nationally, please see our national website.
Relate Services have been available throughout both Shropshire and Herefordshire for over forty-five years. Relate in Shropshire became a limited company by guarantee in 1996 and merged with Herefordshire in 1999 to form Relate Shropshire and Herefordshire Limited.
The Centre office is based in the Roy Fletcher Centre at 12-17 Cross Hill, Shrewsbury, SY1 1JE ,
Tel 01743-344010
It operates a centralised booking service for locations throughout Shropshire and Herefordshire.
Click here for locations and how to find us
Appointments are available and can be made during the following times:
| Monday | : | 9.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | : | 9.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | : | 9.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. |
| Thursday | : | 9.30 a.m. - 9.00 p.m. |
| Friday | : | 9.30 a.m. - 3.00 p.m. |
I have to admit that when I agreed to join the Board of Trustees in November 2009 I was shamefully ignorant of the scope of the work carried out by Relate Shropshire and Herefordshire.
As an organisation we keep our heads down - we have been shy of self publicity. After all, being discreet and keeping confidence is essential to our work.
However it is no longer good enough for the man or woman in the street to reply "Isn't that the Marriage Guidance Council?" in answer to the question "Have you heard of Relate?" We need to promote the useful work we do, not just in couples counselling but across all five areas: Family Counselling; Young Persons' Counselling; Psychosexual Counselling and Personal Life Skills Training.
In times of financial restraint it is well known that the less affluent can suffer disproportionately. The strain on personal relationships, on family cohesion and on a young person's attitude to society is often magnified by deprivation. Relate is one of the very few organisations that can offer instant assistance to help relieve the pressure that builds up in individuals and families and in doing so can prevent the occurrence of anti-social behaviour in the community, clinical depression; even descent into addiction, homelessness or self harm.
It astonishes me that our elected representatives and those charged with the care of the most vulnerable in our society; young offenders; children suffering from the fractured relationships of parents; children who are victims of abuse at home or bullying at school are prepared to ignore the benefits of professional counselling in an attempt to cut a budget. The eventual cost to our society of not meeting these problems at their inception is very high indeed and we are constantly reminded in our newspapers of our failure to stop and to listen and to offer help.
The country is facing a period of austerity - some people will need help to face each day. At our AGM in 2009 a young lady gave us a personal account of how after losing her partner; her job; her house and her car in a terrifying vortex of related and unpreventable incidentsshe asked herself the question, "Wouldn't the world be better off without me?" Thankfully she turned to Relate and undertook a course on "Taking Charge of My Life". She did just that and is now hoping to train as a foster carer in order to help others.
At our Spring Meeting we heard directly from a young man who had become estranged from his family and from society. He had no respect for either and wasn't afraid to demonstrate the fact. Relate Counselling has brought that family back together and has restored the respect that each member has for the other. Father and son were eloquent in their praise of the part that Relate had played in the process.
Who can measure in financial terms the savings to society in these two cases? What is more important, who can place a value on the restoration of a person's self esteem and sense of worth in the community?
Those of us who do know what Relate is about have a duty to take our message to the unenlightened. Not enough medical practices refer clients to professional counselling; too few heads of schools are familiar with the benefits of our work. And we have a duty to make our services available to as many of those who need it as we can.
In Shropshire and Herefordshire we receive very little financial help from central or local government. At the same time we aim to provide the widest possible range of services to our clients. The Managers and voluntary helpers in our Charity Shops do a wonderful job in this respect as does our Chief Executive with her Ladies' Days and 60's Concerts. In the forthcoming year we aim to expand our fund raising activities and broadcast to as many as possible the power for good that is Relate.
Many thanks to all Relate Trustees for their commitment to the organisation; to the Administration Staff for their hard work; to those engaged in our retail shops and to the Counsellors for their dedication to the welfare of our fellow citizens. And thanks too to the clients for placing their trust in us often at times of great personal distress and hardship.
Roger Pemberton - Chairman
Locally, Relate gets no government funding contrary to what most people think so our work is greatly supported by our six charity shops and a team of willing volunteers! We also are supported by fundraising, grateful donations and legacies and client donations.