Whole Family Team with Perinatal Specialism

What is it?

Local Services

Service Info

Supports parents with children up to 5 years old.
Offers assessments, parenting programs, therapy & family work.
Service available in children’s centres or home visits.

Here's more detail

Published: 07/04/21

(We are able to provide this information in any language you require or in other formats such as large text. Please speak to your clinician or email businesssupport@tavi-port.nhs.uk and we will arrange this.)

We understand that becoming a parent can be an exciting time, but it can also be an extremely challenging and stressful period.

This is particularly when parents are also facing mental and physical health problems, family relationship problems, poverty, homelessness or domestic violence.

Mostly we work directly with families. Sometimes we work indirectly, supporting professionals working with family’s through specialist knowledge about infant mental health and child development.

Who works in the team?
We are a specialist under-5s child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) supporting pregnant parents and families with babies, toddlers and children up to 5 years.
Our multidisciplinary team of CAMHS workers includes:
Clinical Psychology
Educational Psychology
Family Therapy
Child Psychotherapy
Psychiatry
Social Work
Who do we support?
Where becoming or being a parent is stirring up difficult thoughts and feelings
Parents experiencing depression, stress or anxiety around the time of becoming a parent
Parents who have experienced disruptions in their own childhoods which can understandably make being a parent more challenging at times
When there are difficulties in the parent/carer-child relationship such as with bonding
When the parent/carer are finding the child’s behaviour challenging
When there is conflict, such as arguments, between parents/carers
When families already have services involved and would benefit from joined up and coordinated help and support
What do we offer?
Once a family has been referred, we undertake an assessment. We meet with families several times to get to know them, discuss the reason that they have been referred and think about what might be helpful.
Sometimes we might need to meet on a few more occasions. We call this an extended assessment. After this, we consider what options of support could be helpful. We then think together with families about what they would like to choose.
Our team offers the following:
Parent-infant work
Video feedback to support parenting
Family work
Couple work
Child focused sessions
Nursery and school observation
Parent focused work
Parenting Programmes (eg. Incredible Years for parents of children aged 18 months to 3 years old)
Consultations with other professionals to think about how to understand a child
Individual talking therapy
Referral information

A family can be referred through any professional supporting them e.g. GP, Midwife, Health Visitor, Family Worker, Social Worker, Speech and Language Therapist, Adult Mental Health Worker.
On some occasions, we might decide that our team isn’t the right fit. If this is the case we will help you reach the right service by making an onward referral.

Contact information

We see people in children’s centres, however there may be times when it is difficult for families to come to us.

We visit families in their home or in other local authority or NHS locations. Sometimes we can meet online, by telephone or outside; wherever is most convenient.

I was a bit anxious at first but she put me at ease.

Parent of a 5 year old child

Just that [clinician] has been really understanding and really helpful just with the things I need and to find solutions for me and my situation.

Parent of a 9 month old child

Just that [clinician] has been really understanding and really helpful just with the things I need and to find solutions for me and my situation.

Parent of a 9 month old child

I thought that they knew what they were doing they listened and they were available.

Parent of a 3 year old child

They are consistent, lots of knowledge and pointed me to the right direction if I had any other issues that they were able to help with.

Parent of a 4 year old child

I am really happy with the service. It has been really helpful. Sometimes I have been very unsure about very difficult matters in my life. It has been helpful to talk about these things.

Parent of a 2 year old child

It’s good that we are all in the sessions together. It is good that they are trying to find the issues of my child.

Parent of a 4 year old child

I felt listened to and I was involved with the decision made. We decided to do behavioural therapy and I felt involved in that process and decision.

Parent of a 4 year old child

I felt comfortable and could speak safely without judgement.

Parent of a 5 year old child