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Nurturing Beginnings Forum
Coinciding with Infant Mental Health Awareness week, Berry Street, the Australian Association for Infant Mental Health (AAIMH), the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) and The Centre for Excellence in Child & Family Welfare are proud to partner to present the Nurturing Beginnings Forum.
The Nurturing Beginnings Forum will be a hybrid event, with the in-person component hosted in Melbourne, and will bring together professionals working and leading in the infant, child and family sector from across Australia.
Through a variety of presentations from sector experts the Forum aims to showcase best practice and innovation; highlight the importance of equity, diversity and inclusion for families with infants and young children impacted by violence, trauma, neglect and other adversity; and celebrate our diverse workforce.
Event Details
Date: Friday 13 June,
2025
Time: 9:30am – 4:30am (AEST)
Venue:
Rydges Melbourne, 186 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, VIC
Cost: $460 in-person attendance | $390
virtual attendance
View registration information here.
A 15% discount is available to all AAIMH Members for In Person or Virtual attendance.
Refer to discount code in members' email from AAIMH.
Enter the code on the final Payment page of the event registration, in the Discount Code window.
Program and Speakers
Our program will feature a variety of presentations from sector experts and panel discussions focused on the Forum themes, including the following:
- Dr Mishel McMahon PhD, First Nations Researcher (Victoria)
- Jennifer Jackson, Psychoanalytic Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist in private practice | Director of Paper Bird Children's Bookshop (Western Australia)
- Associate Professor Campbell Paul, Consultant and Child Psychiatrist, Royal Children’s Hospital (Victoria)
- Catherine McQueen, Assistant Director Take Two, Berry Street (Victoria)
- Zakiyyah Muhammad, Education and Therapeutic Consultant and Practitioner (South Australia)
- Joe Coyne, Applied Developmental Psychologist & Deputy Chair AAIMH (Queensland)
- Alison Cox, Director Take Two, Berry Street (Victoria)
- Alma-Jane O’Donnell, National Manager Child and Family Services, Good Start Early Learning (South Australia)
Presentations will have a focus on:
- Restoring and promoting the infant and young child’s development, mental health and relational wellbeing by enhancing caregiver-child relationships.
- Honouring the perspectives of infants and young children, their caregivers, and the communities raising them.
- Supporting workforce development and wellbeing, when working with infants, young children and their caregivers
