It can be really helpful to talk to someone who is separate from the situation you are in and the difficulties you are having.

Counselling can help you to understand your situation better.  It can help you to cope with your emotions and make positive choices.  It can help you to feel more safe and secure.

Some of our Member Services offer a counselling service specifically for children and young people to give you time to explore your thoughts and feelings about changes you may be going through.

This might be about changes you are experiencing in your life due to your parents splitting up or divorcing or moving into a stepfamily situation or other difficulties you are having in your relationships.

Counsellors bring a wealth of techniques to promote emotional health, including art and play therapy.

When your parents separate, you may feel lots of different, possibly conflicting emotions. But you don’t need to bottle it all up and cope on your own. We are here to listen to you and help you to work through your thoughts and feelings.

Your parents might get help from a family mediator to talk together about arrangements when the family situation changes.  Your views on this are important!  It can be difficult for children to say to their parents what they are thinking and feeling.  If your parents are meeting a family mediator you could also meet with a mediator to talk about how things are for you just now.

Find out more about how to Have Your Say here: Children and Young People – Relationships Scotland (relationships-scotland.org.uk)

We all experience conflict at some time in our lives.  When it is within the family it can make life very difficult for everyone. It may seem strange to think about needing help to talk, but when arguments escalate people often stop hearing what the other person is saying. This is frustrating and leads to misunderstandings and people making assumptions about each other. Things can quickly get out of control and become very distressing.

Several of our centres have experience of working with young people and, usually, their parents, to help them talk through the problems they face. This might be referred to as Young People and Families Mediation, intergenerational mediation or even homelessness mediation. Everyone has a chance to say what the issues are from their point of view, and the mediator helps them to understand each other better and agree what they might do differently in the future so that arguments and difficulties reduce.

Some of our Family Mediation services also run groups for children and young people in which they are supported to express their thoughts and feelings about their parents’ separating or living apart, in a safe environment.  You can meet other children and young people going through the same experience and find mutual support. In some Services, these groups are called Time to Talk.

Get in touch with your nearest Member Service and find out how they can help you Find Your Nearest Service – Relationships Scotland (relationships-scotland.org.uk)

There is some useful information that has been designed specifically for children and young people whose parents have decided to separate or live apart on this page of our website:

Resources – Relationships Scotland (relationships-scotland.org.uk)