Parental mental illness and child-aware practice

Self-directed online training

Event description

Many parents with mental illness have the capacity, strengths and supports to help their children thrive. Some parents may even develop positive parenting strategies as a result of their illness. However, without the right support, parental mental illness has the potential to impact on children’s mental health, development and wellbeing. Practitioners are well placed to hold preventative conversations with parents, to help reduce any negative impacts of the parent’s illness, and to support the parent’s strengths and hopes for their family.

Throughout this course, you will consider how a parent’s mental illness may impact their physical and mental health, their parenting and family functioning, and the effect these impacts may have on their children’s wellbeing. You will also explore how mental illness can motivate parents to focus on positive parenting; and how conversations that focus on the parent’s knowledge, parenting role, strengths and hopes for their family can play a critical role in their recovery.

The course uses a child-aware practice approach, which invites you to make talking about parenting, children and family life an integral part of your practice. It also introduces the PERCS Conversation Guide – a psychosocial discussion tool developed through consultations with practitioners and parents. The guide helps you to hold conversations with clients who are parents about the impact of mental illness on their children’s lives. It supports non-judgmental collaborative conversations, and encourages shared understanding and decision making with parents.