A Year of Pandemic Relationships

A Year of Pandemic Relationships

Over the course of the pandemic, Relate NI have been working to provide relationship support to children, young people, individuals, couples, and families, many of whom have felt under pressure from the effects of the pandemic and subsequent lockdown conditions.

At various points in the past year, Relate NI have worked with colleagues across the UK in order to best understand the pressures facing relationships.

Using the insights from the various pieces of research illustrated below, as well as our experience of supporting people and their relationships in Northern Ireland for over 70 years, we have created a number of Covid-19 Relationship Support Resources as well as tips and ideas to help you Relieve the Pressure on Your Relationships as we emerge out of lockdown.

The next stage of a major research project looking at the long term impact of COVID-19 on families, Families Un-locked, is now seeking participants. This is a great opportunity to better understand this impact in Northern Ireland and Relate NI are asking as many people in NI as possible to fill in the survey; Families Unlocked Revisited.

As well as seeking to establish how our relationships have evolved since the Autumn, the study has also added in questions around new themes such as loneliness, loss and also resilience and what can we learn from our experiences over the past year.

The ultimate aim of this research is to help develop new ways to support families, couples and children during the ‘new normal’, any subsequent waves of the pandemic and any future public health crises.

Relate NI CEO, Duane Farrell, said;

“The word unprecedented has been used so much over the past year, but the global pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on our lives and on our communities. Much of the public debate about the impact of COVID-19 has focused on the health and economic impacts of the pandemic. It’s been clear to Relate NI that people and their relationships have also been impacted over this last year, both positively and negatively.

It’s vitally important that we understand what those impacts have been and how they have ebbed and flowed over the course of the last year for people and for families. Research such as the Families Unlocked survey will help us build evidence which we can use to tell the story of how family relationships need to be supported as we seek to emerge from this past year”

Thank you to everybody who has taken part in our research so far. Below you can see some of the key statistics from a year of pandemic relationships;

 

One Year Ago

 

9 Months Ago

 

4 Months Ago

 

2 Months Ago

 

The Future..?

To help us better understand the impact of covid on relationships, please take part in Families Unlocked Revisited.

For more information on our services and how they may be able to help you and your relationships, visit; https://www.relateni.org/our_services

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“How Relate NI helps people”

Our counsellor was excellent and really helped me and my husband to resolve the niggles in our relationshipService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Couples
My counsellor was lovely, attentive and supportive. She helped me to understand my worth and for that, I will always be gratefulService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Individuals
This service is invaluable. Such lovely people to meet and help you through difficult times.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Couples
The service was excellent, my counsellor was really good at getting us to open up and helping us to get to the root of our issues. We have definitely improved our communication since attending.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Couples
I found the Relationship MOT an excellent method of focusing on how we work as a couple and just as importantly, where we need to work. It was professional, insightful and well worth the time. It has reminded us of how much we have to be proud of in our relationship and why it is so important to occasionally review it with experts.Service Attended Relationship MOT
I would definitely recommend using the Relationship MOT service as a bit of a check in with your partner. I thought how the counsellor was able to steer the conversation was very insightful and nuanced. The MOT reminded us about why we are great together but also the importance of communication and respect.” “Our counsellor provided an outside perspective which immediately helped us to agree that we needed to stop and think with more kindness and empathy for each other especially when stressed or pissed off. We both felt that our counsellor’s excellent and gentle facilitation was quite invigorating. So many positives!Service Attended Relationship MOT 2
Very Interesting Content. I like the concept of preparing your relationship before you have problemsService Attended Sustaining Healthy Relationships – Surestart 4
The face to face programme has made me feel connected with others experiencing similar thingsService Attended Sustaining Healthy Relationships – Surestart 3
The workshops made me more confident to balance family life after the baby's arrivalService Attended Sustaining Healthy Relationships – Surestart 2
I now have a better understanding of myself, it is good to know that it is normal to have argumentsService Attended Sustaining Healthy Relationships – Surestart 1
I felt the weekly questionnaire, couples with the counsellor's understanding of my needs help contribute to my own understanding of my mental health and needs throughout.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Individuals
I loved every session. Our counsellor listened to what we had to say and gave us helpful wee homework - would recommend this service to everybodyService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Couples
Our counsellor was a fantastic support - we now feel strong enough to continue working on our relationship togetherService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Couples
I had a very good counsellor that helped me through a lot and it has made me come out the other side.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling for Individuals
Counselling took us from a bad place to a good one and I would return if neededService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Couples
Been a lifeline to help us fall in love again - forever grateful!Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Couples
I would just like to say that when I first came for counselling I felt that I was drowning.  I have completed my sessions and I now feel that I can cope a lot better with everything.  Thank you for a brilliant service.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Individuals
Thank you Relate NI for a good nights sleep.Service Attended Relate NI Kids Counselling
Really enjoyed Relate NI and I'm actually going to miss counselling.  I Found it helpful to find myself again. Very fair and equal within our relationship.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Couples
I appreciated the straightforward, helpful and informed observations about situations. It really helped me cope during Christmas which is a difficult time for usService Attended Family Counselling
The counsellor was very pleasant to meet with.  They had the necessary skills to speak and listen when appropriate.  I liked their humour and good personality.Service Attended Family Counselling
Relate NI has helped me move on as well as understand myself and situation more.  My counsellor listened to me, facilitated me and was compassionate!Service Attended Relate NI Teen Counselling
I felt the weekly questionnaire, coupled with counsellor's understanding of my needs helped contribute to my own understanding of my mental health and needs throughoutService Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Individuals
We had four funded sessions and cannot express how grateful we are for the help, guidance and knowledge. Our counsellor was incredibly professional, and her experience and obvious passion for helping couples like us was exceptional. She helped us to understand ourselves and each other like we otherwise never would have been able to.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Couples
I have tried counselling many times in the past. This time actually made a difference. I was able to complete online sessions as well as some face to face.Service Attended Adult Relationship Counselling For Individuals

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