Bristol Community Family Trust

Introduction

BCFT aims to reduce family breakdown and strengthen marriages and families in Bristol by offering marriage & relationship education and support across the life-cycle. All couples getting married, having a baby or sending a child to school, will eventually be offered "state of the art" research-based relationship education. Since September 2002, BCFT courses have been offered through the civil Registrars, churches and wedding outlets to all couples getting married.

Marriage Preparation

BCFT runs courses every month, for couples getting married or newlywed, which include a day of PREP skills training in the classroom followed by 3-6 private evenings going through the FOCCUS questionnaire with a mentor couple. BCFT also runs courses every month to train mentors. Mentors are ordinary non-expert married couples who want to make a difference, much like an uncle and aunt. Couples getting married can suggest their own friends as mentors or accept mentors provided by BCFT.

The BCFT website, www.bcft.co.uk, provides research summaries on marriage and marriage education, including a brief description of both PREP and FOCCUS programmes. PREP is currently the only marriage education programme in the world with published evidence that divorce risk is substantially lowered.

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