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Credit crunch hits couples as numbers seeking relationship counselling soar – Exclusive

December 2008

The credit crunch is taking its toll on couples with soaring numbers seeking relationship counselling over the past two months.

Calls to the charity Relate, the national relationship advice helpline, were up 59 per cent on the same period last year.

Arguments about money forced the number of callers up to 7,694 in October and November, compared to just 4,847 for those months in 2007.

Relate's Denise Knowles, who has worked for the charity for 18 years, said: "The last time I saw problems like this was in the last recession of the 1990s."

Couples are increasingly asking for help from the charity's emergency fund because they can't even afford to pay for counselling.

And Ms Knowles warned those seen by Relate were only the "tip of the iceberg". She added: "There will be an awful lot more people out there suffering from the credit crunch who do not get themselves to Relate or thinking their relationship can't get back from the precipice."

Ms Knowles said money is the most common cause of problems even when times are good - and that the current crisis is making it an issue for everyone.

She said: "It has always been a problem in relationships. But now it is affecting them not just because they have overspent or not budgeted, but because they have lost their jobs or been made redundant.

"Some have never had to concern themselves with where the next penny is coming from. We are seeing couples who have never had to worry about that."

The charity has drawn up a Christmas survival plan for couples, which includes setting a price cap for presents, fixing an overall budget, and sharing the cost of Christmas dinner among guests.

Ms Knowles also urged couples to contact Relate as soon as trouble starts.

She added: "Some people leave it until they are at crisis point, which is an awful lot harder to claw themselves back from."

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