PROFESSIONALS HUB
Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice
This DorPIP-designed and written Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice CPD Training empowers people to make a lasting difference in the earliest days of a family’s story. It supports the translation of infant mental health theory into applied, relationship-based practice, strengthening everyday work with babies, parents and caregivers during the first 1001 days. You’ll learn how to walk alongside pregnant parents and families with babies in ways that strengthen connection, nurture wellbeing, and ensure every family feels truly seen, heard, and supported.
Over 90% of attendees say this Level 1 course transformed the way they work with families in the first 1,001 days.
More than 80% of professionals told us they’ll use what they learned in their day-to-day work with families.
98% of attendees would recommend DorPIP as a training provider.
Infant mental health concerns how babies develop emotionally and relationally within the context of early caregiving relationships and how professionals across systems can support this development in everyday practice.
The Best Start for Life recommendations and the Opening the Door to the Baby Room report both call for what our Dorset Infant Mental Health Manifesto already champions:
Investing in prevention and relationship-based early support
Tackling inequalities so no baby is left behind
Building a skilled workforce through our IMHCF CPD-accredited training
Our CPD-accredited Training gives professionals the tools to understand, protect and strengthen early relationships placing babies at the heart of local practice.
Most Babies will never have access to expert parent-infant relationship support. 1 in 5 mothers and 1 in 10 fathers experience perinatal mental health difficulties.
Your knowledge is the most powerful protective factor these babies have.
Informed by the AIMH-developed Infant Mental Health Competency Framework, the course focuses on how the framework’s competencies are understood, interpreted and used in real-world early help and community settings. DorPIP’s role is to bridge theory and practice, supporting people to work within an Infant Mental Health (IMH) and Parent–Infant Relationship (PIR) frame of reference, and to recognise how relational principles show up in observation, interaction, decision-making and support.
This course is designed, written and delivered by DorPIP and is independently CPD accredited. While informed by the AIMH Infant Mental Health Competency Framework, it is not part of, nor a substitute for, the AIMH UK IMH CPD Programme. Practitioners wishing to pursue formal competency assessment or progression within the AIMH IMH CPD pathway should refer directly to AIMH UK.
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Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice is designed for all staff or volunteers working with infants and their parents or caregivers, from pregnancy through the second year of life. This CPD accredited training ensures everyone is on the same page, putting infants as the heart of your work.
Our course supports skills identified in the Association for Infant Mental Health (AiMH) UK Infant Mental Health Competency Framework. These competencies were developed by AIMH and have been adopted by the Family Hub and Start for life Program.
The trainers are skilled at adapting the course to the appropriate level (varying theoretical content, depth of discussion, and therapeutic techniques) to ensure that all practitioners benefit.
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Lisa Villa - Specialist Midwife with Parent Infant Relationship focus
A specialist midwife with a strong emphasis on supporting and caring for vulnerable women during their pregnancy and in the postnatal period. Lisa has worked as a lead midwife in Perinatal Mental Health and Safeguarding Children within the NHS and is also a Newborn Infant Physical Examination and Newborn Behaviour Observation trained practitioner.
Marie-Clare Gale - Mental health and Wellbeing Trainer.
Leading with empathy and experience, Marie Claire is has been facilitating sessions for nearly 20 years. Marie Clare creates a learning environment that evokes thought and a sense of togetherness.
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Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice is broken into a AM and PM session. This can be delivered across one or two days.
The course is delivered online using Microsoft Teams. Days and dates can be arranged to suit your needs, or you can book onto the next session here
Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice can be commissioned for a minimum of 12 participants, and maximum 24, to allow time and space for discussion.
All practitioners who complete the course in full are issued with a CPD certificate for 7 hours CPD.
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Our PAIR Level 1 Training Course cost £2350 per day (7 hours)
This cost covers:
A 7 hour CPD Certified Training Day for a maximum of 24 learners
A Course Webpage
The entire registration process managed by our team
Pre and Post Course Assessments
A certificate of completion
A detailed analysis of cohort performance for comissioner.
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Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice builds on your exsisting knowledge and understanding of parental bonding, infant attachment and parent infant relationships.
Early parent-infant relationship relationships, and the extraordinary development of the brain – with its vulnerability to trauma and neglect – are key to our relationships with others throughout life, and our ongoing emotional wellbeing.
Our training will give you confidence in giving a voice to the baby/child and the impact of their experiences.
The course helps you to support parents and carers who often have their own difficult life histories which, in turn, impact on their capacity to care for their children.
This understanding, and the skills developed further during the course, help you to achieve:
more thorough assessment of emotional needs
reduced risk and better safeguarding
more effective therapeutic intervention
more effective communication with the professional network.
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To be able to hold the infant mental health and wellbeing in mind when you are working with families so that you can deliver high quality care.
You wil be able to identify stressors and risks to the care giving relationship that might impact on the parent infant relationship and in time on the optimum development of the infant.
You will understand how to apply attachment theory in practise. Recognise how attachment styles can enhance interpersonal relationships, including impacting interactions between caregiver and infant.
You will be able to assess additional needs that families may have and support the caregiving relationship through introduction to relevant available resources, including working within relevant legal and professional frameworks.
You will be able to reflect on your personal experience of working with families, to facilitate better communication, understanding and appreciation.
You will feel empowered to work within your own boundaries and to seek support, including supervision when needed.
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In person or online training delivered in 2 parts over one or two day.
Part 1 Mandatory training – Infant Mental Health knowledge and skills
Part 2 Personal and Professional development – Attachment theory in practice
Pre course self-assessment – self guided, time to complete estimated 40 minutes.
Post course self-assessment – self guided, time to complete estimated 40 minutes.
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The human brain has over 100 billion neurons, each connecting to around 10,000 other neurons. These connections are affected by our social and emotional experience from infancy. So how can we help to nurture healthy brains?
Infant Mental Health: Framework to Practice incorporates current research in the field of child development, including: neuroscience, attachment, emotional regulation, parental attunement and mentalization / reflective capacity.
The course build on concepts and skills embedded within psychodynamic therapeutic work, mentalization-based therapy and interventions such as the Solihull Approach (Douglas, H. & Ginty, M. 2001), Watch, Wait and Wonder (Muir, E. 1992), the Tavistock Clinic approach: Watch Me Play! (2020), Mind-mindedness (Meins, E. 2012) and Words and Pictures (Hiles, M., Essex, S., Fox, A. and Luger, C. (2008).
DATE: Tuesday 15th September
Time: 9:00am - 4:00pm
Format: Online
Our Infant Mental Health Competency Framework (IMHCF) Level 1 training course equips professionals with the essential knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care to families. You'll learn to identify strengths and needs so you can deliver the best care to pregnant parents and those with babies, helping you and your team provide consistent and compassionate support to the families they serve.
Course Reviews
“I feel it has been an incredible reminder for me of how powerful and impactful our role is to families, especially when in crisis. Empowered me to refocus back to attachment and the importance of attachment when supporting Mums”
— Caitlin, Social Worker“The course content was excellent, and it made me think about my own experiences of being a parent, and in particular how neurodiversity affects parent and child relationships.”
— Elowen, Family Hub Staff“I really enjoyed the smaller number of participants on this course. It made it feel like one big conversation face to face, feeling comfortable”
— Julie, VolunteerLet’s work together.
Contact us about commissioning a Training Course for your team.
