About Relate

Relate Avon is an independent local charity that has delivered counselling services since the 1940s.  We are part of the national federation of Relate (the UK’s largest provider of relationship support) with a vision of a future where healthy relationships are actively promoted as the heart of a thriving society. 

From our centres in Bristol and Bath and also online we deliver a range of services across four local authorities (Bristol, South Glos, B&NES and North Somerset).

We are governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees who are committed to helping everyone have healthy and happy relationships.

Who We Are

Our History

Here in Bristol and Bath we’ve been providing relationship support for 80 years and have evolved into a modern, thriving organisation meeting the needs of our community.

During the second world war local branches of the Marriage Guidance Council were set up in both Bristol and Bath, partly to address the relationship traumas of war.

In 1988 the organisation changed its name to Relate to recognise our wider relationship work with single people, cohabiting couples, same-sex couples, and families. And then in 2000 our Bristol and Bath centres merged to form Relate Avon.

We have a wealth of experience having helped tens of thousands of people and held hundreds of thousands of counselling sessions.