Introductory Certificate in Infant Mental Health and Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health
These courses will appeal to anyone working with perinatal families, including midwives, CaFHS and child protection staff, GPs, staff of NGOs, and private practitioners.
The Introductory Certificate in Infant Mental Health and Introductory Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health run for 10 weeks each on Wednesday afternoons from 3 to 6 pm. The infant mental health course is delivered face-to-face only, however, the perinatal mental health course is also available via Microsoft Teams those unable to travel to the course location. They are taught by a Faculty of experienced clinicians including psychiatrists, psychologists and other therapists with expertise in perinatal and infant mental health. The courses complement each other, as one concentrates on the infant and the other on pregnant and postnatal women. They may be undertaken sequentially or as separate stand-alone programs, depending on the student’s educational needs.
Enrolments are encouraged from anyone working with infants and toddlers and/or their families, in particular from childcare, early childhood, CaFHS, WCHN staff, NGOs, CAMHS, private practice practitioners, child protection or mental health services.
These courses will also appeal to anyone working with perinatal families, including midwives, CaFHS and child protection staff, GPs, staff of NGOs, private practitioners etc.
Term 1: Wednesdays, 1 February – 5 April, 2023
Term 3: Wednesdays, 26 July – 27 September, 2023
The aims of this course are to:
- Provide basic knowledge and skills to those who work with infants and their families
- Improve their sense of confidence and competence in their work, particularly around understanding infant and family emotional needs
- Enable workers to reflect on how their own views and feelings impact in their work so that they can effectively use themselves in their work
- Become familiar with infant mental health concepts with access to reading material, and in particular to other people who work in the same area.
Course work will include:
- Basic theories relevant to working with infants and their families, in particular attachment and systems theories
- Observing an infant or toddler once a week for the duration of the course and writing a diary about the experiences of observation
- How to understand what is happening inside an infant and how to best help that infant’s emotional development
- How to recognize when things are not going well and what to do in this situation.
Reading from the following textbook: Clinical Skills in Infant Mental Health, 2nd edition (2011) as outlined in the weekly program. The textbook can be purchased online via:
Assessment will be undertaken in the following way:
- 80% attendance is required
- Contribution to small group infant observation group
- One 10-minute presentation on a topic relevant to that person's workplace.
Term 2: Wednesdays, 3 May – 5 July, 2023
The aims of this course are to:
- Provide basic knowledge and skills to those who work with antenatal and postnatal women and their families
- Improve their sense of confidence and competence in their work, particularly around understanding emotional needs of the woman and her family
- Enable workers to reflect on how their own views and feelings impact in their work so that they can effectively use themselves in their work
- Become familiar with perinatal mental health concepts in greater depth, to provide access to reading material and to see and hear the views of professionals and consumers in this area.
Course work will include:
- Basic theories relevant to working with perinatal women and their families
- Working in small groups which provide opportunity for case discussion and self-reflection about working with perinatal families
- Lectures on more severe mental health issues in the perinatal period
- How to recognize when things need further input from other professionals and where to get this help.
Assessment will be undertaken in the following way:
- 80% attendance is required
- Contribution to supervision groups
- One 10-minute presentation on a topic relevant to that person's workplace.
Students will be required to successfully complete each of the above assessment requirements.
Enrolment Information
Course fee
- $600
- $300 for CAMHS/WCH/CaFHS/Full-time Student staff
- No cost to Helen Mayo House staff
Every person successfully completing a course will receive a relevant Certificate from the Women's and Children's Hospital.
Enrolments are through Eventbrite:
Enrolments will be accepted from people in order of receipt of full payment. The courses are popular so if you are interested, return your enrolment as soon as possible.
Cancellations made prior to one week before the course commences can be refunded in full.
For enquiries email Health.PIMHSHelenMayoHouse@sa.gov.au or telephone (08) 7087 1047.
Enrolment Information
Course fee
- $600
- $300 for CAMHS staff
Every person successfully completing a course will receive a relevant Certificate from the Women's and Children's Hospital.
Enrolments are through Eventbrite:
Enrolments will be accepted from people in order of receipt of full payment. The courses are popular so if you are interested, return your enrolment as soon as possible.
Cancellations made prior to one week before the course commences can be refunded in full.
For enquiries email Health.PIMHSHelenMayoHouse@sa.gov.au or telephone (08) 7087 1047.