Becoming Us Intensive for Social Workers
Discover the differences of relationship-informed work over 8 weeks.
Do More of the Work You'll Love
Discover a relationship-based approach to parenthood - and potentially the most rewarding work you'll do.
Perinatal intimate partner relationship satisfaction, emotional wellbeing and mental health are intertwined. According to research, relationship concerns are the single most significant risk factor for antenatal anxiety and a major contributor to depression in both mothers and fathers postnatally. The great news is that intimate partner relationships are also a protective factor: new parents satisfied with their relationship report higher self-esteem and closer bonding with their baby. The whole family benefits.
Perinatal relationship work is an emerging area of specialised care. Parenthood is a unique time, relatively early in a couple’s relationship, when parents are confronted with sensitive, complex and layered challenges. It is also a unique window of opportunity for prevention and early intervention in adult and infant mental health. Relationship-informed work is important to avoid inadvertently creating more stress for parents, provide meaningful context for their challenges, and support secure attachment for parents, babies and partners.
In line with new recommendations for a “whole family” approach, Becoming Us Perinatal Relationships and Mental Health (PRaM) training provides care providers with foundations and frameworks for relationship-informed care for individuals, couples and groups. Participants learn practical skills to integrate best practice guidelines to support the mental, emotional and relational wellbeing of parents, partners and babies through pregnancy and the crucial first years of becoming a family. Join us!
Partner support is often cited as the most important variable in avoiding perinatal mental health difficulties, and we are well aware of the intergenerational transmission of trauma, but rarely address this.
We are missing what could be our best opportunity for prevention and early intervention in mental health for the whole family.
Becoming Us provides a vital missing piece of the perinatal wellbeing puzzle that is too often overlooked and goes unaddressed. I recommend this practical, insightful and transformative professional training.
Professor Bryanne Barnett A.M.
NEW: Social Worker Online Intensive Enrollments Open Soon
Please book early. Spaces are strictly limited!
Two online self-paced sessions plus one live zoom over 8 weeks. Oct 21 - Dec 14 2023. Dates and times are below.
The Becoming Us intensive is designed for:
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Social workers in private practice providing relationship counselling, individual or family therapy, or wanting to specialise in, or provide more guidance and support for, relationship changes in the perinatal period.
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Hospital social workers who desire to work more holistically with couples whilst providing support for acute or chronic health matters, particularly those based in maternity and children’s hospitals.
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Social workers based in child protection or community based organisations who work with couples and families regarding the changes that occur in relationships after having children, looking holistically at the impact on the couple as well as on the child/ren.
What you'll learn:
Level I - Perinatal Relationship Foundations:
- Three main long-term relationship stages
- Bonding and attachment (babies and adults)
- Twelve transitions of parenthood
- The benefits of relationship-informed work
- Using neuroplasticity to plant prevention seeds
Level II - A Perinatal Relationship Framework:
- Preparing expectant parents for life as a new family
- Postnatal nesting, resting and whole family bonding
- Adjusting expectations of life, self, partner, baby and others
- Supporting self-care, partner care and baby care
- Understanding mixed emotions of the perinatal period
- Supporting self-esteem and new sense of identity
- Managing communication and conflict to bring couples closer
- Bonding couples through layers of intimacy
Level III - Extra Support for the Extra Hard Stuff:
- Minimising risks for intimate partner abuse, addictions and infidelity
- Growing through PMH issues, trauma, loss and grief
- Reflecting on your own journey
- Celebrating all that you bring to your important role
Can you say a training is beautiful? Because this training is beautiful!
Diane Speier PhD., Birth Professional and Psychotherapist, Manchester, UK
Included in the Intensive:
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Fourteen online self-paced educational sessions.
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Eight weekly small group live zoom discussion and Q&A sessions. Dates and times below.
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Handouts and resources to use with individual parents, couples and/or groups from Day One.
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Optional monthly peer support group zoom calls to meet international colleagues, share challenges and have community support.
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Access to our private facebook group where we post new research to stay updated.
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Forever access to it all.
Oct/Nov/Dec 2023 Dates and Times
Each week contains two self-paced online sessions followed by a live zoom discussion and Q&A call.
Live calls will be scheduled for Thursdays at 10 am Sydney Time. Please check this time zone converter for your local date and time before committing to this course. Our zooms run between 60 and 90 minutes as per the schedule below.
- Week 1 starts October 21 (first Zoom Oct 26 - 90 mins)
- Week 2 starts October 28 (Zoom Nov 2 - 60 mins)
- Week 3 starts November 4 (Zoom Nov 9 - 60 mins)
- Week 4 starts November 11 (Zoom Nov16 - 60 mins)
- Week 5 starts November 18 (Zoom Nov 23 - 90 mins)
- Week 6 starts November 25 (Zoom Nov 30 - 60 mins)
- Week 7 starts December 2 (Zoom Dec 7 - 60 mins)
- Week 8 starts December 9 (final Zoom Dec 14 - 90 mins)
Meet your Facilitators
Elly Taylor
Elly Taylor is a perinatal relationship expert, multi award-winning author and founder of Becoming Us. As a relationship counsellor, Elly began studying the transition into parenthood when she became aware of both the unique challenges and opportunities for parents and families at this time. Based on the stories of hundreds of mothers, fathers and parents and research in adult attachment, Elly created Becoming Us, a relationship-developmental approach to pregnancy and early parenthood.
Elly has served as a subject matter expert for Monash University, The Australian Catholic University, Newcastle University (SMS4DADS) and Columbia University research projects and has been invited to speak at conferences and events internationally.
Elly's passion is sharing the benefits of relationship-informed care for parents, families, providers and communities. She is excited to be working currently with NSW Health to implement Becoming Us courses in her local area, including in the two hospitals where her three children were born.
Karen O'Mara
Karen O’Mara is a qualified and experienced clinical social worker and group facilitator, founder of Making Mama Village and mother of two children. Karen’s work extends more than 25 years working extensively with families in child protection, as well as in social work positions in maternity and children's hospitals in intensive care and emergency departments supporting families and children impacted by grief, loss, trauma, crisis and bereavement.
In her practice, Karen provides individual and group counselling which is informed by attachment theory and family systems theory, and where she works from a client centred and strengths perspective approach. Karen is also a registered Circle of Security® Parenting™ facilitator, is a qualified NDC (neuroprotective developmental care) practitioner with Possums Clinic, volunteered for over 10 years for a non for profit organisation providing breastfeeding support and is now a Becoming Us relationship-based practitioner.
Karen has a long history of providing supervision to staff, students and volunteers, and enjoys providing support and guidance to other professionals as they work in similar fields, particularly in supporting families with young children.
We hope you’ll join us to support our next generation of parents. This work has never been more needed than now!
Some final considerations
This intensive training is designed for personal and professional development. Participants will be invited to reflect on their own journey of parenthood. This intensive training is not suitable for individuals who are currently or recently experiencing relationship crises. Please see the enrol any time, self-paced training options as alternatives.
Please allow around 60-90 mins for each session. Please also be prepared to allow for reflection, processing, practice and integration time in between sessions eg. a Monday, Wednesday, Friday schedule is ideal.
The Becoming Us Intensive is approved by Postpartum Support International (PSI) as an alternative track for advanced training. Attendance at all live zoom sessions is mandatory for this. The Becoming Us self-paced training is approved for PSI PMH-C re-certification and 22 CEUs.
Finally, we are proudly based in Australia, but our training platform is housed in the US, so please note that prices are in US dollars. Please check your local currency conversion before committing.
For organisational discounts and group enrollments (we love these!, please email [email protected].
SAVE $300. Only 12 spots available. Early Bird enrollment closes in:
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Becoming Us perinatal relationship training is approved by:
