Our amazing Parents in Mind team in the North West were nominated for Outstanding Team of the Year category at the St Helens Cares Awards. Find out more about what they do.
Our Parents in Mind initiative provides support with mental health for parents through peer support, with Parents in Mind hubs in Coventry & Warwickshire, Newham and Warrington, Halton & St Helens.
Local parents are trained as volunteers to support other local new parents by providing peer mental health support on an individual and group basis. The main objectives are to open up conversations around mental health and improve the emotional wellbeing of parents, reducing their social isolation while helping them to build local connections in a safe, non-judgemental environment.
Part of the Parents in Mind project in St Helens is aimed directly at dads and partners with young children, aged from newborn to two years old. It’s available for first-time parents as well as parents with older children.
Similar to mums, symptoms of paternal postnatal depression can range from feeling like you’re not good enough to look after and support your partner and child, to struggling to bond emotionally with your new baby.
Paternal postnatal depression can make you feel like you’re not good enough
It also ensures dads, who may be feeling vulnerable but don’t know where to turn to, who may be questioning their ability to parent – or having mixed emotions about their change in circumstances, to understand that they are not alone and what they are feeling or experiencing is normal.
By doing so, the service is hoping it can tackle the social stigma around male mental health; increase fathers’ confidence and signpost them to other relevant services, if needed.
Anyone needing support can contact the Parents in Mind group directly, or get a referral from a GP, nurse, or other health professional.
And last week, our Parents in Mind team in the North West were nominated in the Outstanding Team of the Year category at the St Helens Cares Awards in recognition of the fantastic work they do.
Perinatal Peer Support Manager in the North West, Catherine Briars, said: “It was wonderful to be recognised alongside clinicians and other community support services, for all our efforts to adjust swiftly to COVID, and going above and beyond to meet our service users’ needs during the pandemic.”
Well done to the whole team!
Find out about our Partners in Mind project on our website and on Facebook @NCT Parents in Mind and Instagram @nctparentsinmindpartners. You can watch the Being Dad podcast Pete and Ian from the team create on our Youtube channel.
We have lots of articles for dads and partners, from bonding and caring for your baby to dealing with changing relationships. See them all here.
