Carla Anderson Clinician Training

Sarah Edwards and I were absolutely honoured yesterday to present on behalf of Bronwyn Leigh Centre for Perinatal Psychology at the Queensland Infant Mental Health Symposium with Richard Fletcher SMS4dads

The presentation was;

“A practical tool for engaging fathers and connecting them with their bubs”

We explored the theoretical underpinnings of infant mental health and highlighting the importance of dads, and experiential ways to engage dads using the beautiful “Speaking for baby - for dads” illustration resources. These resources were born from a collaboration between Bronwyn and Richard, combining Bronwyn’s original Speaking For Baby campaign with SMS 4 Dads messaging.

Thankyou to everyone who came along and offered such rich discussions and shared their experiences in supporting fathers and their infants, and the importance of a whole family approach.

Resources beautifully illustrated by Jess Racklyeft

It was so lovely to see some familiar faces and some new. I’ll share some more later.

keepingmumpsychology
Centre for Perinatal Psychology
SMS4dads

Infant Mental Health Awareness Week, is a global campaign that shines a light on the emotional, social, and developmental wellbeing of babies and young children.

I often hear people say;

“babies do not have mental health”

So often we are focus on physical development, weighs and measures, and milestones, meaning psychological development may be missed. Often people may not understand what infant mental health even means.

When we talk about infant mental health, we’re not talking about mental illness. We’re talking about a baby’s emotional wellbeing and how they experience the world and the relationships around them. It’s about how babies communicate their needs, how they feel safe enough to explore their world, and how they learn to manage their feelings with the support of caring adults.

One way we can support infant mental health is through attunement, which is this year’s IMHAW theme.

You have probably seen and heard me talk a lot about attunement and related topics in my social media posts. This is a big focus of my training, teaching clinicians skills in attunement and how this is a parallel process modelling attunement for parents and infants. Behind the scenes, this is also what I work on clinically when I am supporting parents and infants therapeutically.

So what is Attunement? The Parent-Infant Foundation UK defines attunement as the ability to tune in and connect on an emotional level. It helps babies learn to regulate their emotions and feel safe and loved, supporting good infant mental health.

In real life, it is noticing baby’s cues, trying to understand what baby might be communicating, and responding in ways that help them feel safe, loved, and understood. However, It’s not something you have to do 100% of the time or perfectly. It can be helpful to focus on little micro moments of attunement and reflect on how it feels.

Because some of the most important things we give babies cannot be measured on a growth chart. They are felt within relationships.

Today marks the beginning of Infant Mental Health Awareness week.

IMHAW campaign began in 2016 by the Parent-Infant Foundation UK to raise awareness about the importance of a baby’s social, emotional, and brain development. The campaign began in Australia in 2017. Thankyou to the Centre for Perinatal Psychology for being an integral organisation in bringing awareness in Infant Mental Health to Australia and then with the release of your Speaking For Baby Campaign back in 2018. Looking forward to sharing more of their resources this week.

📋 Many perinatal clinicians feel confident administering the EPDS, yet notice a subtle shift when they reach Question 10. This was such a common response when I interviewed midwives and child health nurses.

The challenge is rarely about not knowing the tool. More often, it is about the moment of asking the question itself.

Clinicians often notice internal activation when approaching Question 10, including:

➡️ Hesitation before asking

➡️ A quiet hope the answer will be no

➡️ Uncertainty about how to ask in a natural, compassionate way

➡️ Awareness of the emotional weight the question carries

There is an important difference between understanding the EPDS and feeling steady enough to ask the question with confidence.

Reflective practice helps us notice what is happening internally so that we can remain grounded and present in the conversation.

Since running this webinar, I have had a number of clinicians ask whether it is still available to access.

I’m pleased to let you know that the recording is now available.

🎥 EPDS Question 10: When Question 10 Feels Heavy

In this webinar recording I explore:

✅Why Question 10 can feel different from the rest of the EPDS

✅Common fears and barriers clinicians experience

✅What happens internally when we approach sensitive conversations

✅How reflective practice can support confidence and presence

✅Feeling more prepared to hold the space when concerns are disclosed

Suitable for medical perinatal clinicians including, but certainly not limited to, Midwives, Child Health Nurses, Neonatal Nurses, Obstetricians, GPs, Practice Nurses and others supporting families during the perinatal period.

💻 30 day access

For only $27

If this reflects your experience in practice, comment “Q10” below and I’ll send you the details.

https://carlaandersoncliniciantraining.com/epdsquestion10_webinar

Nb: If you previously registered for the live webinar please message me for the link.

👋 Hi if you are new to following me I thought I could share again how we can work together.

🩺CHOOSE YOUR ADVENTURE 💐

As a healthcare clinician, do you:

💫Want to feel more confident supporting parents and families through difficult conversations in the perinatal period?

and / or

❤️ Find yourself showing up for everyone else while quietly carrying the weight of your role, wondering how to care for yourself while caring for others?

In either case, you just need the right support.

I created these spaces to support the people who support others.

With more than twenty five years of experience in perinatal, infant and family mental health, and a love of floristry and therapeutic horticulture, I have seen how growth in our work comes from both learning and replenishment.

🩺👶 Tender Talks - Perinatal Psychological Support Skills & Reflective Practice Training

For medical professionals working in fertility, pregnancy, birth, and postnatal care interested in psychological support skills, reflective practice, and clinician sustainability.

💐 The Clinician in Bloom- Floristry & Self-care & Reflective Practice Training

For any healthcare clinician interested in self care, reflective practice, and mindfulness using floristry and creative reflection.

👇 To join the mailing lists, comment:

🩺 MAIL for Perinatal Tender Talks

💐 FLORALS for The Clinician in Bloom

Or visit my website: www.carlaandersoncliniciantraining.com

Links in bio.

Validation……I am not talking about what happens with the ticket machine at the car park. So what am I talking about?

Validation is one of those communication skills that gets talked about a lot. We know it’s important, but when thinking about it, it’s not so clear what it actually looks like in practice?

At its simplest, validation is communicating that a parent’s feelings make sense in the context of what they have been through.

For example, a parent experiencing complexities in their pregnancy says:

“I can’t stop worrying that something might be wrong with my baby.”

Validation might sound like:

“Given everything you’ve been through, it makes sense that the worry is still there.”

Where we sometimes get confused is that validation is not the same as reassurance. It’s not that reassurance is the wrong thing to do, it’s more about when it’s used, and what can happen if we jump straight to reassurance. If we don’t validate first, reassurance has the potential to take the feeling away and shut down the conversation. And sometimes we might rush to reassurance if we are not feeling confident in the moment how to respond.

In my experience, parents rarely need convincing that they shouldn’t feel the way they do. More often, they need someone to recognise that their feelings make sense. To validate these feelings and hold space for them.

💭Reflective Prompt

When a parent shares something difficult, how might you practice validation when you notice a rush to reassure?

These are the types of skills I help with in my Tender Talks training.

When a parent says they’re fine, but something feels different…..

Sometimes parents say they are “fine” even when they are struggling. Clinicians will often notice subtle signals, whether that be a hurried answer, a quiet apology, or a quick laugh to downplay something heavy.

For clinicians these moments can feel confusing and even uncomfortable, especially when time is short and the appointment needs to keep moving.

It is important to remember that some parents communicate their feelings in ways that are unique to them, depending on culture, neurodiversity, personality and their past experiences.

It is also important not to make assumptions and to approach each interaction with open curiosity.

Curiosity and attuning to the parent’s individual communication style allows clinicians to remain present and connected without assuming the parent is holding back. It is about maintaining an emotional connection while continuing with the clinical work.

Even small adjustments can make a difference. Recognising the minimisation, attuning to the parent’s individual communication style, and holding space can help parents feel understood. Clinicians also feel steadier in the process, knowing they can hold these moments without having to fix them.

This is a core focus of Tender Talks: Confident Conversations In The Perinatal Period. Focused on helping clinicians develop this capacity, so they can respond to minimisation in ways that are trauma-informed, culturally safe, neuro-affirming, and emotionally supportive for both the parent and themselves.