GET CONTROL BEFORE YOU REACT.
Relationship collapsed? Children’s Services involved?
When something serious happens, you may be angry, frightened, overwhelmed or completely numb.
That is exactly when people send the message, make the call, start the argument, involve somebody else, spend money too quickly or make a decision that creates another problem.
Before you call. Before you message. Before you react.
Get Stabilised →When Everything Suddenly Feels Urgent
You are angry. You think what is happening is unfair. You want to send another email, explain yourself again, go back and sort something out or get somebody else involved.
Doing something isn't always better. Every new message, confrontation, visit or third party can create another issue that did not exist yesterday.
When you are emotional, stressed or upset, it is harder to make clear decisions. That can lead to choices that make the situation worse. Our job is to help you make better decisions and protect your position.
If something does not need doing, we will tell you. If a solicitor is needed, we will tell you. If the sensible answer is to wait and stop escalating, then we will tell you that too.
Our financial incentive is to make your conflict smaller, not your case bigger.
Sometimes our job is to tell you to stop.
Comply first. Get advice. Use the proper route. Don't create a second problem while fighting the first one.
The first 48 hours can shape what happens next.
Early decisions matter. But if the crisis started days or weeks ago, you have not missed the point at which we can help.
You may already have sent messages you regret, spent money or made decisions under pressure.
We cannot undo what has happened. We can help you avoid making the next decision under the same pressure.
We protect the space between the crisis and professional advice.
We stabilise the situation, preserve information, reduce avoidable risk, prepare you for professional appointments, and help stop today's emotional decision-making becoming next month's problem.
That means helping you separate what is urgent from what is simply loud, keep the records and dates that may matter later, and arrive at the next professional conversation with the facts organised and the right questions ready.
You may need a solicitor, barrister or another professional. You may simply need a calm second pair of eyes and a sensible plan before you spend professional time and money. We help you work out the difference.
Part of our job is to help you spend professional money where professional expertise is actually needed — not on work you could have organised beforehand.
GET CLEAR. GET ORGANISED. KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT.
TELL US WHAT'S HAPPENED.
Tell us what happened, what is happening now and what you are most worried about. We start with the facts, not the noise.
WE STABILISE THE SITUATION.
During the 90-minute session we separate what needs attention now from what can wait, and identify where professional advice is actually needed.
YOU LEAVE WITH A CLEAR PLAN.
You receive a written Personal Stabilisation Action Plan setting out the priorities, the next steps and what not to do.
A £195 SESSION ISN’T THE EXPENSIVE PART.
When you’re angry, frightened or overwhelmed, one badly judged message, confrontation, decision or missed deadline can create consequences that last far longer than the crisis itself.
It can mean more conflict, more professional fees, a weaker position, problems at work or home — and in some situations, further police or court involvement.
Crisis Stabilisation is about helping you make the next decision carefully, before a difficult situation becomes a more expensive or more serious one.
£195 isn’t buying a phone call. It’s buying an intervention at the point where poor decisions can become extremely expensive.
AND IF THE PROBLEM DOESN’T END AFTER 90 MINUTES, NEITHER DOES OUR SUPPORT.
Crisis Stabilisation is the starting point. If your situation is still developing, we can continue supporting you as things unfold — helping you stay organised, prepare for meetings and professional appointments, review new information and work out the sensible next move.
See ongoing support →WHAT DO YOU NEED HELP WITH?
Choose the situation closest to yours. You do not need to have everything worked out before you start.
THE ARREST MAY BE OVER. THE INVESTIGATION MAY NOT BE.
Walking out of the police station does not necessarily mean the difficult part is finished.
In some cases, the difficult part can begin when you walk back out.
You may now be dealing with bail conditions, a seized phone, work, children, an ex-partner, practical restrictions, people asking questions and an investigation that may continue for months.
THE NEXT PROBLEM IS OFTEN CREATED AFTER THE FIRST ONE.
STABILISE
People keep emailing, explaining, negotiating, involving other people or trying to solve practical problems while exhausted and under pressure.
Sometimes the most useful thing we can say is:
PRESERVE & ORGANISE
Important information can disappear surprisingly quickly. We help identify what may matter in your case, put an appropriate preservation plan in place and turn what follows into something manageable.
WE HELP YOU GET CLEAR, GET ORGANISED AND WORK OUT WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
We are not there to run your defence. We are there to help you stay organised, make better practical decisions and avoid doing something under pressure that could make your position worse.
TRIAGE WHAT'S HAPPENING
Work out what has changed since the arrest, what is urgent and what can wait.
IDENTIFY WHAT NEEDS PROTECTING
Identify immediate practical risks and what information may need preserving.
ORGANISE THE INFORMATION
Bring together dates, events, documents, messages and chronology where relevant.
WORK OUT THE PRACTICAL NEXT STEPS
Separate practical decisions from legal questions and identify what needs putting to the right professional.
BUILD YOUR ACTION PLAN
Turn it into a Personal Stabilisation Action Plan so you know what to do next, what can wait and what requires professional advice.
PRACTICAL DECISION SUPPORT
Being under investigation can affect far more than the criminal case. People make decisions about work, relationships, children, money, communication and everyday life while frightened, angry or exhausted.
Part of our role is to help you slow those decisions down, think through the consequences and avoid doing something that could make your situation worse.
We will challenge poor decisions where necessary. Sometimes the most useful thing we can do is tell you not to send the message, not to make the call, not to confront somebody and not to make a major decision while you are reacting to the crisis.
WE PRESERVE THE INFORMATION. WE DON'T MANUFACTURE THE EVIDENCE.
Preservation does not mean alteration.
We do not help alter, create, destroy or manipulate evidence. The detailed preservation work is tailored to the actual circumstances.
COMMUNICATION DISCIPLINE
Children, work, property and appointments may still need practical communication.
Say only what needs saying about the practical issue. If a message concerns the allegation or your legal position, ask your solicitor before replying.
BAIL CONDITIONS CAN CREATE REAL-LIFE PROBLEMS.
A restriction may affect your home, children, work, appointments, property, travel or ordinary parts of daily life.
The practical problem may be genuine. But if a restriction needs changing, the answer is not to repeatedly argue about it or invent your own workaround.
We do not interpret bail conditions for you. That is legal advice.
DON'T CREATE A SECOND PROBLEM WHILE FIGHTING THE FIRST ONE.
If a condition genuinely needs changing, speak to your solicitor about the appropriate process.
We do not help anybody get around bail conditions, court orders or police restrictions.
INVESTIGATIONS CAN CONTINUE FOR MONTHS.
Source: Home Office, Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2025. The Home Office cautions that these are incomplete datasets and should not be treated as perfect national estimates.
IF THIS KEEPS MOVING, WE CAN KEEP HELPING YOU MANAGE IT.
A police investigation does not necessarily stand still between solicitor appointments. New messages arrive. Bail may be reviewed. Work or family circumstances can change. New documents or information may appear.
Where ongoing support is appropriate, we can help you keep the practical side of the situation under control.
That can include keeping your chronology and information organised, reviewing what has changed, helping you prepare for professional appointments, maintaining communication discipline and working through practical decisions before they become additional problems.
It is to keep you organised, prepared and less likely to make a poor decision while the situation develops.
BECAUSE WE DO A DIFFERENT JOB.
Your criminal solicitor or barrister deals with the legal case — legal advice, plea advice, defence strategy, legal applications and advocacy.
We deal with practical work around it: crisis stabilisation, organisation, chronology, information preservation, communication discipline, preparation and ongoing management between professional appointments.
USE SOLICITOR TIME FOR SOLICITOR WORK.
If you later have to pay privately for legal representation, arriving organised can make professional time more productive.
ARRIVE PREPARED. USE PROFESSIONAL TIME WELL.
Solicitors and barristers are there to do legal work. We can help you organise the chronology, documents, questions and practical background beforehand so that paid professional time can be used more efficiently.
Being better prepared may reduce the amount of professional time spent untangling information that could have been organised in advance.
Criminal cases are practical-support work for us, not McKenzie Friend work.
CRIMINAL CASES ARE NOT McKENZIE FRIEND WORK.
Our role in criminal cases is practical case support.
We do not act as a McKenzie Friend in criminal proceedings. We do not provide criminal legal advice, plea advice, defence strategy, conduct litigation or advocate in the criminal courts.
Where something requires a criminal solicitor or barrister:
If something needs legal advice, we stop and tell you to take it to your solicitor.
GET CONTROL OF WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
Whether you were arrested two hours ago, five days ago or several weeks ago, you have not missed the point at which stabilisation can help.
The purpose is not to give you another generic checklist. It is to work out what your situation actually needs.
CRISIS STABILISATION
90 minutes of practical one-to-one support.
We look at what is happening, what creates immediate risk, what needs preserving, what practical problems need solving and what questions need putting to the right professional.
Afterwards you receive your Personal Stabilisation Action Plan.
If you need continued support afterwards, we can discuss the appropriate level of ongoing help.
A CLEARER POSITION AND A PRACTICAL PLAN.
You may already have done something you wish you had not. We cannot undo it.
We can help stop the next one.
Get stabilised — £195DON'T TURN A BREAKDOWN INTO A WAR.
A relationship ends. Contact with your children changes. Court papers arrive. An allegation is made. A hearing suddenly appears in the diary.
Very quickly an emotional problem can become a practical problem, a financial problem and sometimes a legal problem.
COMMUNICATION DISCIPLINE.
Messages and behaviour during a relationship breakdown can matter later. But the answer is not simply to stop communicating when children, finances, property or practical arrangements genuinely need dealing with.
DON'T TURN THE DINING-ROOM TABLE INTO A WAR.
No family task force. No twentieth message. No asking half a dozen people to intervene.
And no turning an argument about the car, the furniture or who owns the dining-room table into a much bigger conflict.
WE HELP YOU SLOW IT DOWN, GET ORGANISED AND MAKE BETTER DECISIONS.
Part of our job is preventative: helping you avoid decisions made under pressure that could damage your position, increase conflict or create another problem.
SLOW THE SITUATION DOWN
Separate what needs attention now from what can wait, before anger, panic or pressure drives the next move.
WORK OUT WHAT IS URGENT
Identify immediate practical risks involving children, communication, work, money, property, appointments or court deadlines.
ORGANISE THE FACTS AND PAPERS
Bring together dates, messages, documents, allegations, orders and chronology where they matter.
SUPPORT PRACTICAL DECISIONS
Help you think through communication and day-to-day choices before they create more conflict or weaken your position.
PREPARE FOR THE RIGHT PROFESSIONAL OR HEARING
Work out what needs to go to a solicitor or barrister, and help you arrive organised for meetings, hearings and other important appointments.
That may mean not sending the twentieth message, not turning up somewhere to “sort it out”, not involving half the family and not making a major decision while angry or overwhelmed.
YOU DO NOT NEED TO WAIT UNTIL YOU ARE IN COURT.
You do not need to wait until you are in court.
Crisis stabilisation can help when a relationship has just broken down, contact has suddenly changed, papers have arrived or a family dispute is beginning to escalate.
The session is specific to your situation: what needs attention now, what should wait, what information matters, what professional input may be required and what could make the situation worse.
PERSONAL STABILISATION ACTION PLAN
After the 90-minute session you receive a written, case-specific plan covering what needs doing next, what should wait, what needs preserving and what requires professional advice.
YOU ARE FAR FROM THE ONLY PERSON DOING THIS WITHOUT A SOLICITOR.
Source: Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly, January to March 2026.
There is a large space between doing absolutely everything alone and paying a solicitor to deal with every aspect of the case. That is where McKenzie Friend support can fit.
YOU STAY IN CONTROL OF YOUR CASE.
A McKenzie Friend provides reasonable assistance to somebody who remains a litigant in person.
Official judiciary guidance says a McKenzie Friend may provide moral support, take notes, help with case papers and quietly advise on the conduct of the case.
A McKenzie Friend does not automatically have the right to address the court or conduct litigation on somebody else's behalf.
WHAT WE CAN SUPPORT
Case organisation, practical preparation, assistance with your papers, hearing preparation, note-taking and ongoing practical support as the case develops.
The exact support depends on the case.
You are paying for help with your situation — not another generic guide to family court.
YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO PAY A SOLICITOR TO DO EVERYTHING.
Sometimes you need a solicitor. Sometimes you need a barrister. Sometimes you need targeted legal advice on one issue.
And sometimes you can remain a litigant in person and use practical or McKenzie Friend support for substantial parts of managing your own case.
Where specialist legal advice, regulated legal work or representation is genuinely needed, we say so.
USE SOLICITOR TIME FOR SOLICITOR WORK.
We help get the factual and practical side of the case into a usable form before expensive professional time is spent on it.
Prep before the meter starts.
Sometimes the best solicitor meeting is the one you no longer need.
Preparation can pay for itself.
IF THE CASE KEEPS MOVING, WE CAN KEEP HELPING YOU MANAGE IT.
Family cases rarely move in one clean step. New messages arrive. New documents are filed. Positions change. Hearings move closer. Practical problems continue between professional appointments.
Where ongoing support is appropriate, we can help you keep the practical side of the case under control as it develops.
That can include keeping your chronology updated, organising new documents, preparing questions, helping you prepare for meetings or hearings, reviewing what has changed and working through practical decisions before they become additional problems.
It is to keep you organised, prepared and less likely to make a poor decision while the case develops.
CRISIS STABILISATION
Getting control of the situation before more conflict is created.
CASE ORGANISATION & PREPARATION
Turning a difficult situation into something manageable and arriving at important meetings or hearings properly prepared.
McKENZIE FRIEND & ONGOING SUPPORT
Reasonable assistance while you remain the litigant in person, plus practical support as the case develops.
WE ARE NOT PAID TO KEEP YOU FIGHTING.
Our job is not to turn every disagreement into another application.
We want less unnecessary conflict, less avoidable risk, better preparation and, wherever reasonably possible, less cost.
If mediation can sensibly resolve the problem, use mediation. If regulated legal advice is needed, use a lawyer. If the problem is practical case management and support, that is where we come in.
Sometimes we work alongside your solicitor. Sometimes you use us as a McKenzie Friend while remaining a litigant in person. Sometimes we tell you that a particular issue needs regulated legal advice.
And sometimes we tell you that something simply does not need doing.
Our financial incentive is to make your conflict smaller, not your case bigger.
A CLEARER POSITION AND A PRACTICAL PLAN.
ENGAGE — BUT DON'T GO IN UNPREPARED.
Children’s Services can provide important support to children and families.
Their involvement can also generate assessments, case notes, plans, meeting records and professional opinions that may become highly significant later.
Take the process seriously from day one.
WHAT IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING?
“Children’s Services are involved” can describe very different situations. The first practical job is to understand the process you are in, the concerns being raised, what is happening next and what needs proper legal advice.
We help you turn a stressful stream of calls, meetings, records and decisions into something you can actually manage.
A “NO SURPRISES” APPROACH
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 says practitioners should create a culture of “no surprises”, help parents and carers prepare for meetings, explain the issues and possible outcomes, and explain that a family member, friend or supporter can attend meetings.
Source: Department for Education, Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026.
ACCURACY MATTERS. SO DOES HOW YOU GO ABOUT IT.
Important interactions can later be remembered differently or recorded inaccurately. Keep the material that matters and raise significant factual errors calmly.
Recording professional interactions can raise evidential, privacy and family-court issues. The Family Justice Council published specific guidance in 2025. We keep the detailed guidance and source material in Facts & Evidence rather than turning this page into a legal tutorial.
See Facts & EvidenceDON'T DECLARE WAR ON CHILDREN'S SERVICES.
Our job is not to tell parents to refuse to cooperate. It is also not to tell you simply to accept every record without question.
Calm. Prepared. Accurate. Documented.
DON'T FIGHT EVERYTHING AT ONCE.
Children’s Services involvement can leave parents frightened, angry or overwhelmed. That is exactly when poor decisions can create extra problems.
Part of our role is helping you avoid decisions made under pressure that could make the situation harder.
That can mean slowing down hostile emails, unnecessary confrontations, refusing reasonable engagement or trying to challenge every disagreement at the same time.
Deal with them calmly, accurately and through the right route.
WE KNOW WHERE OUR ROLE STOPS.
If the issue concerns legal thresholds, court orders, removal of a child, consent to accommodation, pre-proceedings or another question requiring legal interpretation, practical support is not a substitute for legal advice.
When proper legal advice is needed, we say so.
A CLEARER PICTURE OF THE PROCESS AND A PRACTICAL PLAN.
IF THE PROCESS KEEPS MOVING, WE CAN KEEP HELPING YOU MANAGE IT.
Children’s Services involvement can develop over weeks or months. New meeting records appear. Assessments are updated. Plans change. New concerns may be raised and new decisions may need to be made.
Where ongoing support is appropriate, we can help you keep the practical side of the process organised as it develops.
That can include reviewing new records, keeping your chronology current, preparing for meetings, tracking agreed actions, preparing questions and working through new practical decisions before the next significant event.
It is to help you stay organised, prepared and able to engage with the process without making unnecessary problems for yourself.
GET CONTROL OF THE INFORMATION BEFORE THE NEXT IMPORTANT STEP.
90 minutes of practical one-to-one support.
We work through what is happening now, what needs organising, what needs raising, what needs legal advice and what the sensible next steps are.
Afterwards you receive your Personal Stabilisation Action Plan.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?
Tell us what is happening, what stage the process is at and what you are most worried about.
We tell you whether Crisis Stabilisation is appropriate and identify anything that needs legal advice instead.
You leave with clear priorities and practical next steps.
WE PROTECT THE SPACE BETWEEN THE CRISIS AND THE PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.
We stabilise the situation, preserve information, reduce avoidable risk, prepare you for professional appointments and help stop today's emotional decision becoming next month's problem.
TURN THE CRISIS INTO A SMALLER, MANAGEABLE SET OF NEXT STEPS.
TRIAGE THE SITUATION
Work out what has happened, what is urgent and what can wait.
ORGANISE THE INFORMATION
Pull the important dates, messages, documents and decisions into something usable.
WORK THROUGH THE NEXT DECISIONS
Identify what you should do now, what you should not do, and what needs professional advice.
PREPARE THE NEXT STEP
Get ready for the next solicitor appointment, meeting, hearing, conversation or practical decision.
A SIMPLE DISCIPLINE FOR THE FIRST DECISIONS.
STOP
Before you call, message, confront, post, delete or involve somebody else.
ORGANISE
What actually happened? What matters now? What can wait?
RECORD
Preserve the important information and get the timeline under control.
THINK
What is the sensible next move? What genuinely needs professional advice?
YOU DO NOT NEED TO ARRIVE WITH EVERYTHING PERFECTLY ORGANISED.
Start with the problem in front of you. We use the session to work out what matters, what needs slowing down and what the sensible next steps are.
GIVE US THE SHORT VERSION
You do not need to prepare a perfect bundle. Start with what has happened, what is happening now and what you are worried about.
WE TRIAGE IT TOGETHER
We separate the urgent from the non-urgent, identify immediate risks and work out where the pressure points actually are.
WE ORGANISE THE NEXT STEPS
What needs preserving? What needs answering? What can wait? What needs to go to a solicitor or another professional?
YOU LEAVE WITH A PLAN
You receive your Personal Stabilisation Action Plan setting out the practical priorities after the session.
If it does not, you do not need to buy more.
THAT IS WHY WE DON'T TRY TO SOLVE EVERYTHING AT ONCE.
High-stakes decisions do not stop arriving just because you are under pressure.
We help you slow the process down enough to decide what actually needs doing next.
STRESS CHANGES HOW WE MAKE DECISIONS.
A meta-analysis covering 1,829 people across 32 datasets found that stress shifted decision-making towards more disadvantageous, reward-seeking and risk-taking choices overall.
A separate meta-analysis covering 2,486 people across 51 studies found that acute stress impaired working memory and cognitive flexibility.
The 48-hour period is our stabilisation model, not a scientific cut-off. Sources: PubMed PMID 27213236; PMC5003767.
YOU DON'T ALWAYS NEED TO PAY A SOLICITOR TO DO EVERYTHING.
We don't pretend to be solicitors.
Sometimes we work alongside your solicitor. Sometimes, in family or civil proceedings, you remain the litigant in person and use us as a McKenzie Friend for work that does not require a solicitor. In criminal cases, our role is practical case support.
Where regulated legal work or representation is genuinely needed, we say so.
USE SOLICITOR TIME FOR SOLICITOR WORK.
Get the factual and practical side organised before expensive professional time is spent on it.
Preparation can pay for itself.
YOU MAY NOT NEED A TWENTY-PAGE STRATEGY.
You may need a calm second pair of eyes, the important information preserved, the right questions prepared and a plan for the next 48 hours.
That is what stabilisation is for.
If something does not need doing, we will tell you.
If a solicitor is needed, we will tell you.
If the sensible answer is to wait, preserve the records and stop escalating the situation, we will tell you that too.
KNOW WHAT WE DO — AND WHERE WE STOP.
WE CAN HELP WITH
Practical crisis support
De-escalation and decision discipline
Organisation, timelines and chronologies
Preserving records
Preparing for meetings and hearings
General process information
McKenzie Friend support where appropriate
Helping you prepare your own papers
WE ARE NOT
A law firm
Your solicitor or barrister
A substitute for regulated legal advice
Responsible for conducting your litigation
A medical or mental-health service
An emergency service
When something needs a solicitor, barrister, doctor or another professional, we say so.
START WITH THE PROBLEM IN FRONT OF YOU.
If everything has just blown up, start with Crisis Stabilisation. If you already know you need longer support, compare the packages.
START WITH WHAT THE SITUATION ACTUALLY NEEDS.
Start with immediate stabilisation. Add ongoing support only if the problem keeps moving and the extra help is genuinely useful.
START SMALLER. ADD SUPPORT ONLY WHEN THE PROBLEM NEEDS IT.
You are not buying a bundle of messages or minutes. You are buying practical support matched to how long the problem is likely to keep moving.
CRISIS STABILISATION
For the point where everything has just blown up.
90 minutes of practical one-to-one support to get control of the immediate situation, work out what matters now, what can wait and what needs professional advice.
Afterwards you receive your Personal Stabilisation Action Plan.
START HERE GIVE US THE SHORT VERSION →WHY START HERE?
You may discover that one properly focused session is enough to get the immediate problem under control.
If you do need continuing support, we already understand the background and can discuss the appropriate next step.
CHOOSE THE PERIOD OF SUPPORT THAT MATCHES THE PROBLEM.
14-DAY SUPPORT
YOU DON'T HAVE TO RE-EXPLAIN THE WHOLE THING EVERY TIME SOMETHING HAPPENS.
We already know the background. When a new email arrives, a meeting is arranged, circumstances change or you are unsure what to do next, you have continuing practical support while the immediate situation settles down.
Includes Crisis Stabilisation, continuing practical support, preparation for important meetings or conversations, help keeping the information organised, and adjustments to your priorities as circumstances change.
Keep Me Stabilised — 14 Days →30-DAY ACTIVE CASE SUPPORT
FOR WHEN THIS ISN'T GOING AWAY NEXT WEEK.
Thirty days of active practical case support for situations involving several moving parts — police, solicitors, family proceedings, Children’s Services, Cafcass, documents, meetings or changing arrangements.
Because month-long cases vary enormously, we assess the likely workload before agreeing the scope and price. Straightforward 30-day support starts from £795. We do not sell you an unlimited month and discover afterwards that the work was never realistically covered.
Discuss 30-Day Support →ONGOING & COURT SUPPORT
For defined pieces of work, substantial preparation, ongoing practical case support and McKenzie Friend assistance where appropriate.
We agree the scope before substantial work starts. Fixed fees can be agreed for defined work. Court attendance, travel and external costs are agreed separately where relevant.
Where a matter needs regulated legal advice or representation, we say so.
Discuss Ongoing Support →FAIR USE, NOT A STOPWATCH.
The 14-day and 30-day packages are designed for reasonable ongoing practical support during the stated period.
They are not unlimited messaging, unlimited document review, 24-hour availability or unlimited professional time.
If the amount of work becomes substantially greater than the package reasonably covers, we agree that with you before additional paid work is undertaken.
START WITH CRISIS STABILISATION.
If you do not yet know whether you need two weeks or a month of support, start with the immediate problem. We can work out what the situation actually needs before you spend more.
£195 CRISIS STABILISATION GIVE US THE SHORT VERSION →THE CLAIMS SHOULD STAND UP.
We keep the sales pages readable. This page is where the supporting data, source links and caveats live.
Statistics can provide context. They do not decide what is true in an individual case.
Where we use a factual or statistical claim, the aim is to identify the original source and say what the evidence does — and does not — show.
WHY STABILISE FIRST?
Finding: stress shifted decisions overall toward more disadvantageous, reward-seeking and risk-taking choices.
Finding: acute stress impaired working memory and cognitive flexibility.
The “next 48 hours” is our stabilisation model, not a scientific cut-off.
MANY PEOPLE ARE ALREADY NAVIGATING PRIVATE FAMILY LAW WITHOUT FULL REPRESENTATION.
Source: Ministry of Justice, Family Court Statistics Quarterly, Jan–Mar 2026
These figures do not mean every person should represent themselves. They show the scale of litigants appearing without full legal representation.
THIS MAY NOT BE OVER NEXT WEEK.
Source: Home Office, Police custody and pre-charge bail, year ending March 2025
The Home Office cautions that the datasets are incomplete and should not be treated as perfect national estimates.
KNOW THE BOUNDARY.
A McKenzie Friend can provide reasonable assistance to a litigant in person, including moral support, note-taking, help with papers and quiet advice on the conduct of the case.
A McKenzie Friend does not automatically have a right of audience or a general right to conduct litigation.
WHY THIS PAGE EXISTS
We do not want the main service pages to become research papers. The detailed supporting material lives here so visitors can check the basis for the claims we make.
WHAT THE CURRENT GUIDANCE ACTUALLY SAYS.
“NO SURPRISES”
Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026 says practitioners should create a culture of “no surprises”, including making parents and carers aware of who will attend meetings and the format of the discussion.
It also says parents and carers should receive adequate preparation, relevant information and help understanding the issues, possible decisions, required changes, timescales and possible outcomes.
Department for Education — Working Together to Safeguard Children 2026
BRINGING SUPPORT
The same guidance says practitioners should explain that parents and carers can bring a family member, friend or supporter to meetings.
That does not turn the supporter into a lawyer or give them control of the meeting. It does confirm that supported participation is contemplated by the statutory guidance.
RECORDING CAN HELP — BUT IT IS NOT CONSEQUENCE-FREE.
The Family Justice Council published guidance in May 2025 dealing specifically with covert recordings in family proceedings concerning children.
The guidance addresses authenticity, completeness, relevance, privacy and the potential consequences of covert recording. Its stated objective also includes encouraging accurate and overt recording of professional interactions so that the perceived need for covert recording is reduced.
WHAT THIS DOES NOT PROVE
It does not create a blanket right to record every social worker, meeting or professional interaction. The facts, setting, court directions and privacy issues can matter.