We've rebranded! We're now Relationship Works (formerly Relate Avon). Click for more information
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We've rebranded! We're now Relationship Works (formerly Relate Avon). Click for more information ⋆
About Relationship Works
(formerly Relate Avon)
Who we are
Relationship Works is an independent local charity delivering specialist relationship services since the 1940s.
We were formerly Relate Avon, part of the national federation of Relate until October 2025, when we rebranded as Relationship Works.
From our centres in Bristol and Bath and also online, we deliver a range of services including relationship and family counselling and sex therapy across our local area and beyond.
We’re governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees committed to helping everyone work towards healthier and happier relationships together.
Our history
For over 80 years, we’ve been supporting relationships in Bristol and Bath. In that time, we've held hundreds of thousands of counselling sessions and helped tens of thousands of people find their way through some of life’s most challenging moments.
And over that time, we’ve evolved into a modern, thriving organisation committed to meeting the needs of our community.
From Marriage Guidance to Relationship Works
We started during World War II as local branches of the Marriage Guidance Council, born from the need to help couples navigate the traumas of war.
In 1988 the Marriage Guidance Council became Relate to recognise the 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, a thriving, independent centre working within the national Relate federation.
Today, we’re here for all relationships, whoever you are, whoever you love, whatever your family looks like.
Why the change from Relate Avon to Relationship Works as part of TLC?
In 2024, the national Relate charity faced significant challenges and was acquired by a much larger organisation, Family Action.
This gave us the opportunity to reflect on our impact and values, resulting in us becoming Relationship Works. With a name that reflects what we believe: relationships can work, when we work on them together.
In November 2025, we joined TLC: Talk Listen Change, a national relationships charity with decades of experience helping people across the country navigate crisis, abuse, and relationship breakdown. Their vision is a society where everyone is surrounded by a circle of safe, healthy, happy relationships.
The merger with TLC hasn ‘t changed our counselling or commitment to the same high-quality, compassionate support we've always provided. But being part of TLC gives us access to a huge range of support and expertise while opening up new opportunities. We're still Relationship Works, but part of something bigger.