Welcome to our Relationship and Emotional Well-being pages

When marriages or partnerships break up, and there are children involved, relationships between all parties can often become hugely stressful.  If you are lucky, you will have a supportive family and a close network of friends that can support you through what will undoubtedly be tough times, however sometimes you may need more support.  As well as the huge emotional turmoil that you and your children will have to face, there are the many practical issues that will need to be addressed. You will have to face many new challenges as single parents, not least, caring for your children which will often be hugely demanding they children grow and their demands change.

What we have tried to do in these pages is to guide you to a handful of sites that we hope will give you some immediate support and guidance in those early days and beyond.

For those who may need extra emotional support we have a Directory of professionaly qualified Counsellors many of whom have experience of working with single parents. Counselling can be very useful at times especially if you need help with a specific area that is causing you distress, for example depression, bereavement, loss, isolation or low self –esteem.

We also have a Directory of Family Mediators.  Mediation can be a very effective option for you if you are struggling to communicate with your ex-partner.  Mediation is not counselling or marriage guidance, it is an opportunity for the two of you to talk and listen to each other in the prescence of an independent and impartial mediator about difficulties you may be having and need to resolve. It is particularly effective at keeping parents out of court, it is far less costly and can help to reduce the conflict that can so often cause much damage and anxiety for any children involved. Click here for more information on Mediation and what is involved.

Don’t forget to visit our Panel of Experts where you can e-mail our Relationship expert for more specific advice. And finally please do get in touch if you would like us to add any other organisations that you have found useful and you think might help others relationships@onlymums.org.