Seminars & Training
AAIMH WA Seminar Series
The AAIMH WA Seminars are aligned to specific competencies from the AAIMH Competency Guidelines®.
The seminars are held on a bimonthly basis and follow a developmental pathway to build skills progressively across the core areas of
knowledge, skills and practice in Infant Mental Health.
2022 Upcoming Seminars
Mon 14th Feb - MBN Story Part 2
Sat 12th Mar - Howard Bath
Sat 11th Jun - Wendy Bunston (IMH Week)
Mon 13th Jun - Wendy Bunston
Mon 15th Aug - Professor John Newnham
Mon 17th Oct - Sally Kendall
Past Seminars
Monday 25th October 2021
Time: 6 - 8pm (WST)
Light refreshments will be served from 5.30pm
St John of God Hospital, Subiaco Conference Centre 3rd Floor SJOGHC Medical Centre, Cnr McCourt & Cambridge
Streets, Subiaco (Parking undercover or street parking available)
Online option available for rural attendees only.
Please purchase ticket online here and then contact: aaimhiwatraining2@gmail.com or 0403 696 049 to request online link details. Then online
link will be sent in the week prior to the event by request.
The Mother-Baby Nurture (MBN) Story
A short-film and discussion about a unique relationship-focussed programme for mothers and babies in the first months postpartum, in which the babies are active participants.
Interventions in the perinatal period for mothers suffering symptoms of depression and anxiety tend to target maternal mental health as the priority. Babies of mothers in distress are also likely to show signs that all-is-not-well, but the focus tends to be on alleviating the mother’s symptoms and providing role adjustment support. Is it possible to include babies in a more active, participatory way? Can we harness the baby’s innate drive to connect and be delighted-in, to help both mother and baby come together and thrive – to learn to ‘dance together’?
The MBN model is simple but effective – the focus is on the parent-infant relationship, where the babies are considered as active agents of change. The essence of the intervention is in supporting mothers in ‘being with’ rather than ‘doing to’ their babies. It is experiential rather than educational, and in the film you will hear the voices of 8 mothers reflecting on their journey through the programme. After screening the 23-minute short-film ‘The MBN Story’, three clinicians from the programme will respond to questions and facilitate a shared discussion. We hope to explore ways in which positive change can come about for troubled parent-infant dyads, how we engage the baby in the process through modelling and offering a lively and nurturing group experience – where relationships remain front and centre stage.
AAIMH Competencies addressed:
- Foundations: Relationship-focused Therapeutic Practice
- Working with Others: Empathy and Compassion
Monday 16th August
AGM
Online and Face to Face Seminar
SJOGH Subiaco, Perth
6-8pm
5.45pm - Registration
6pm - AGM
Gillian Griffiths presents:
Co-creating experiences of safety and comfort in healthcare - Considerations in the prevention and management of Paediatric Medical
Traumatic Stress (PMTS)
Childhood routines of immunisations, dental care, visiting a GP or emergency department and accessing specialist or surgical care can be
stressful for caregivers and their children. In hospital up to 80% of children experience repeated painful and stressful experiences each
day.
In this workshop Gillian will share the evidence behind medical traumatic stress in children and families and explore practical, systemic approaches to reducing stress, distress, anxiety and trauma. Using the neurobiology of stress and trauma, and attachment and polyvagal theories as a foundation, a developmentally attuned approach to co-creating health care experiences of comfort and regulation will be shared.
Gillian Griffiths is an Occupational Therapist with over 20 years’ experience as a senior therapist and program manager in
both acute and community care settings, and a passionate facilitator of professional development and caregiver programs. She is currently
co-leading the KKIND (Keeping Kids In No Distress) Program at Perth Children’s Hospital, is co-director of Engaging Your Senses and author
of SENSE-ational Mealtimes
(www.sense-ationalmealtimes.com.au).
Gillian supports families, teams and professionals across Australia and internationally to provide effective and sensitive care that
minimises stress, anxiety and trauma in daily care routines.
AAIMH Competencies addressed:
- Direct service skills
- Safety
- Responding with Empathy
Thursday 22 April 2021: DOUBLE SEMINAR
with Dr Kelli MacMillan and David Ansell
Part 1:
'Maternal depression and trauma and the emotional availability of mothers at
six months postpartum: findings from the Mercy Pregnancy and Emotional
Well-being Study'
Dr
Macmillan will first discuss the factors that can influence maternal interactions with the infant to provide an insight into infant
development and mental health. Her research explores the quality of mother-infant interactions assessed using the Emotional Availability
(EA) Scales coding system. The research will be discussed to highlight the importance of tailored clinical intervention for mother-infant
dyads, with the presence of a maternal risk factor alone not sufficient to determine a woman’s capacity to be emotionally available to her
infant at six months postpartum.
Part 2
'Using Geo-Spatial Maps and Life Course Research to Improve Child Health -
The Child Development Atlas (CDA)'
David
Ansel will explore the Child Development Atlas (CDA). The CDA aims to be an innovative, free to access, on-line interactive mapping tool to
identify and investigate spatial patterns in core population health, social and administrative data sets, and geo-locate services. The CDA
maps WA Government agency data relating to children and youth, along with other data, such as relating to community, government, and
business infrastructure, to provide a visual representation of the characteristics of community at a suburb or neighbourhood level. The use
of geo-spatial data to improve child health, with a focus on interagency planning in each community will be discussed.
AAIMH Competencies addressed:
- Direct Service Skills
- Screening & Assessment
- Intervention /treatment planning
Date: Thursday 22 April 2021
Time: 6.00 pm - 8.15 pm (WST) - Zoom
Cost: AAIMH members $10
Non - members $20
Student members $5
Student Non-members $10
Book via
Eventbrite at: www.eventbrite.com.au/e/aaimh-wa-april-double-seminar-tickets-149098657097
Zoom Meeting details will be emailed 24 hours before the event.
Registration is limited, so book now.
Click here to download
the flyer for this double seminar.
For any queries please email: aaimhiwatraining2@gmail.com or 0403 696 049
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Thursday 18 February 2021 - Online webinar
'First 2000 days: Aboriginal parents’ and children’s social and emotional wellbeing'
In this presentation, Professor Rhonda Marriott will explore research that focusses on the social and emotional wellbeing of Aboriginal parents and children in the critical first 5 years of life. Facts, myths and complexities will be considered and participants will have an opportunity to interactively consider how those and the research evidence, inform their practice.
AAIMH Competencies addressed:
- Working with Others: building and maintaining relationships, collaborating
- Communicating: listening, speaking
- Reflection: curiosity, self-awareness, professional/personal development
Presenter: Professor Rhonda Marriott,
AM, PhD, Registered Nurse, Midwife, Inaugural Director of the Ngangk Yira Research, Centre for Aboriginal Health and Social Equity at Murdoch University. Professor Marriott brings strong cultural and scientific leadership to the Ngangk Yira Research Centre’s translation of maternal, early childhood and youth research outcomes into policy and practice with a focus on 'Aboriginal Families, Healthy and Resilient'.
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Date: Thursday
18 February 2021
Time: 6.00 pm - 8.00 pm (WST)
Cost: AAIMH members $10
Non - members $20
Student members $5
Student Non-members $10
Book: via www.eventbrite.com until 4pm on Thursday 18 February.
The Zoom Meeting details to be forwarded upon ticket purchase.
For any queries: aaimhiwatraining2@gmail.com or 0403 696 049
Registration is limited, so book now.
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2020 Seminars
Thursday 11 June 2020 - Online webinar
Powerpoint presentation available to download here
Presenter: Professor Evalotte Mörelius, specialist in Paediatric and Neonatal Nursing, Professor of Nursing (Children and Young People) at Perth Children's Hospital and Edith Cowan University
'How the early-life environment affects the development of our stress system'
Professor
Mörelius will explore how our early-life environment affects the development of our stress system. Parental closeness, a sense of security,
emotional availability and nourishment support the development of a healthy stress system, while long-term sickness, pain and stressful
emotional environment may impact it negatively. As a way of example, this lecture will focus on the preterm infant in neonatal intensive
care.
AAIMH Competencies addressed: Theoretical Foundations: Attachment, Separation, Trauma & Loss. Disorders of Infancy / Early Childhood
Thursday 20 February 2020
Presenters:
the Hon Alana Clohesy MLC, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health; Mental Health, who will provide an update on
the State Government's perspective on perinatal and infant mental health, and
Ms Louise Lamont, Executive Officer, Phoenix Support & Advocacy Service (main presenter): 'Infant mental
health and self regulation'
Louise's presentation will highlight the key components of self-regulation as developed by Canadian neuroscientist Dr Stuart Shanker. This
framework is helpful for understanding the impact of stressors (often hidden) in infancy and childhood on an infant or child's ability to
regulate.
2019 Seminars
21st November 2019 - Final seminar for 2019
"Churchill Fellowship: Forest
Kindergartens and the use of nature in Paediatric Therapy"
Presented by Griffin Longley.
8th August 2019
Dr Raffaella Salvo presented on 'High risk infants - promoting infant mental health in the child
protection system.'
For presentation slides, click here
INFANT MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS WEEK 2019
13th June 2019
Lorraine Rose will present a seminar on 'Learning to Love: Normal Developmental Processes.'
See Lorraine Rose's slides on Normal Development here
and Early Primitive Processes - the baby in us here
16th May 2019
Anne Alvarez will join us via video-conference to present 'Developmentally-Informed Psychotherapy of Autism'.
21st February 2019
Anne Buist will join us vis video-conference to present 'mother-infant forensic psychiatry: the good, bad and the ugly'.
See Professor Anne Buist's powerpoint slides here
Training events
See Events Calendar for upcoming state, national and international events.
