Reluctant men can learn to love relationship courses, says The Marriage Foundation
The Marriage Foundation think-tank welcomes Relate’s report recognising and discussing why men are less willing to seek help or support for relationship problems.
Harry Benson, Director of Communications at The Marriage Foundation, says: “A big part of the problem is that most people think about relationships in terms of counselling. Yet what most men want is to be taught how to make their relationship work.”
Mr Benson has personally run hundreds of relationship education courses for thousands of men and women.
He continues: “Rather than proposing new and better ways of getting more men into counselling – which is already widespread – what is really needed is an explosion in solution-focused relationship education programmes.”
The ‘Marriage Course’, ‘PREPARE/ENRICH’ and ‘FOCCUS’ (for couples, married and unmarried), the ‘Marriage Preparation Course’ and ‘Marriage by Design’ (for engaged couples), and ‘Let’s Stick Together’ (for new parents) are examples of some of the courses available to couples.
Mr Benson concludes: “Men do occasionally arrive for a relationship course kicking and screaming.
“But invariably they leave saying how much they’ve learnt and how much they’ve loved it. You really can learn how to make a marriage or relationship work.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
For media inquiries please contact Harry Benson, who is available to be interviewed, on 07515 699187.
The Marriage Foundation was founded by Sir Paul Coleridge, a High Court Judge, moved by his personal experience in 40 years as a barrister and judge specialising in family law. The Foundation seeks to improve public understanding of marriage reduce the numbers of people drawn into the family justice system – some 500,000 children and adults each year.