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Marriage Mentoring is a programme that Living Waters are involved in. It is operated under the vision and direction of the Bristol Community Family Trust – the best way to describe what they do is to give you the following extracts from the BCFT website :

  • Bristol Community Family Trust (BCFT) is a non-profit charity set up to reverse the tide of family breakdown.

Mentoring marriages

Many people assume that couple-to-couple mentoring requires a reasonable level of expertise and training. Some professionals even claim this is essential. After all, if difficult issues arise, mentors need to know how to handle them. But this is both patronizing and plain wrong. If true, it would rule out any contribution from family and friends!

What makes mentoring so easy is the use of an inventory (questionnaire) that provides a format. Mentors simply walk their couple through an inventory, subject by subject, question by question, and get them to talk to each other. No preparation or expertise is needed because mentors are not there as experts. They are there as well-informed uncle and aunt figures

  • The BCFT programme is led by former Navy-pilot-turned-businessman Harry Benson who is married with five children. He has a psychology degree from Bristol University and is trained as a counsellor. 

With added personal experience of near-divorce and as a child of divorce himself, Harry and his wife Kate have been running various marriage education courses for five years, including mentoring and training of mentor couples. He is a trustee of Marriage Resource and a member of the academic panel set up to evaluate Community Family Trusts throughout the UK. · BCFT trustees include a lawyer and a Bristol City councillor. BCFT is supported by many community leaders, including church leaders, health professionals, Lord Lieutenant, Registrar, business leaders and Bristol City councillors.

 

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