Attachment and the Family/Relationship Lifecycle

Relate – A brief history

• Established 70 years ago by Reverand Dr Herbert Gray

• Opened the doors to a marriage guidance service in 1938

• The first counsellors had little or no training

Early client issues…..

• Total ignorance about sex

• Managing living with extended family members

• Return of ex service men and women at the end of WWII

Today

• Relate sees approximately 150,000 clients annually

• This includes 22,000 children and young people and 9,000 families

• Relate has 2,000 practitioners working across 78 centres in England and Wales

• We have our own training institute delivering courses to M.A. and MSc level

Relate Cymru

From the 1st April 2010 the centres in Wales merged to form an all-

Wales Organisation

Relate Cymru Services

• Relationship and family Counselling

• Sex Therapy

• Family Mediation

• Child contact Services and Centres

• Choose 2 Change

Attachment across the family/relationship life

cycle

Underlying strategy behind the

Relate Approach

The 3 stage model:

•Exploration

•Understanding

•Action

The Relate Approach takes an eclectic position drawing on

theoretical models from a range of sources

The Model of Attachment originated in the field of child psychiatry and the works of

John Bowlby.

An emotional bond that impacts from “the cradle to the grave”

Relate works with the effect of attachment patterns set down in childhood on the on-going adult couple relationship and

family system

ATTACHMENT STYLES IN ADULTS

Secure Attachment

Anxious/ambivalent – Preoccupied

Anxious/Avoidant/Dismissive

Attachment problems are often shared between the couple. Couples are drawn together because of complimentary

attachment behaviour but these can become

conflicting over time

Anxious pre-occupied- anxious avoidant

What is a Genogram?

A graphic representation, rather like a joint family tree of all the

relationships of importance during the life time of each

partner. It can identify patterns of interaction and attachment patterns are clearly evident.

Relate Cymru’s Mission

“To promote health respect and justice in couple and family

relationships”

Relate Cymru’s Vision

“A future in which good couple and family relationships form the

heart of a thriving society”