About Us

About The Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic

The Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic (P2P) is a community based early intervention service for families transitioning to parenthood who are experiencing emotional difficulties.
We support families from pregnancy through to 2 years old.
No out-of-pocket expenses for families.
Our interventions help families through strengthening the emotional wellbeing of parents, their babies, and the family system. Parents are supported to build a nurturing relationship with their baby to support optimal development, whilst also learning skills to cope with the emotional demands of parenthood. (To learn more about families’ experiences of attending P2P click here)
Families can self-refer or be referred by a health professional. If you are interested in making a referral, please click here?

We actively build capacity and capability of our future workforce by providing a specialised training program for postgraduate clinical psychology trainees and other allied health students. 

Under close supervision of the PIMH Supervisors and Practitioners, trainees work with families during their 6 to 12 months placement at P2P. Click here to view our student testimonials. 

The P2P intervention and training model is innovative, distinctively different to the traditional mental health services and the only one of its kind in Australia.

Our Mission, Vision and Values

Vision: All families experience a WA System of Care that is innovative and can holistically support all the complexities that come with life of families with babies and very young children.

Mission: We are dedicated to strengthening early relationships that build the foundations for lifelong health, development, and wellbeing for children and building a WA workforce that provides high-quality interventions with proven success for the WHOLE families during pregnancy and the early years.

At the Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic we value:

  1. Dedication, passion, and commitment to the emotional well being of babies, very young children and their families.
  2. Highest standard of excellence in our work through using an Evidence Based and Reflective Practice framework to:
    • Nurture and support trainees and early career staff
    • Create opportunities for leadership and innovation for all staff and trainees
  3. Centrality of healthy positive relationships, including
    • Authentic Collaboration
    • Respectfulness
    • Inclusiveness, and Diversity
  4. Building long term partnerships with families and with those committed to supporting families during pregnancy and the first two years of life
  5. Implementing evidence based and ground breaking interventions that are grounded in research and valued by families.

Our Objectives

The Pregnancy to Parenthood Clinic acknowledges that Pregnancy, Infancy and Early Childhood is a critical time to support families with mental health difficulties and has the following objectives:

  • Deliver an integrated service delivery model focussing on early relational health that meets the mental health needs of parents, infants and their families
  • Address a significant gap in mental health services and meet the needs of the whole family
  • To be ahead of the curve and aligned with contemporary WA and National Government Policy
  • Provide a model of how to build workforce capacity in Perinatal Infant Mental Health

Our History

P2P began operating in 2014 within Edith Cowan University Psychological Services Centre and grew rapidly over seven years. At the end of 2021, P2P began the process of transitioning to a not-for-profit organisation to ensure the long-term sustainability and an opportunity to scale up to meet the growing demand for early intervention services across Western Australia.

P2P has established a successful framework of preventative mental health intervention and a specialised PIMH training model. We will continue to build upon this base to improve education, health and social outcomes for Western Australian families.

Family Stories

What we have learnt so far?

Collaborative relationships with families are integral to shaping and improving the P2P services we provide to families.

Parents have shared with us that P2P plays a critical role in breaking down barriers associated with negative beliefs about depression, parenthood and psychological care.

P2P provides access to specialised interventions at a time when there is motivation for parents to be healthy for themselves and for the wellbeing of their child.

Families have provided feedback to us on their experience of the P2P intervention (interviews at end of intervention) and in a connected, broader community-based study (Better Together, 2019) families shared their experience of WA PIMH services and how they could be improved.

These learnings have been the driver for significant adjustments to the P2P model, resulting in:

  • Improved access to P2P services;
  • Increased advocacy and collaboration with other services that are also working with P2P families
  • More fathers seeking help and engaging in P2P interventions.

We have learnt from families:​

  • There are not enough integrated early intervention services available that support the emotional well being of parents and their very young children
  • A strong desire for a System of Care that provides a unique, tailored, and flexible approach to meet the needs of the whole family, specifically to include fathers in PIMH services.

Family Testimonials

“This service saved my life……it also made me a better mum to my 2 boys…every parent should be able to access P2P if they are struggling mentally’ Mum of 2 young children struggling with her emotional well being ‘Your service helps parents out of a dark place. I wish I knew about P2P sooner and had the courage to speak up sooner about needing help, now look forward to picking my babies up from day-care rather than with reluctance”
Mum with Postnatal Depression
“My practitioner took the time to understand all parts of my experience, it wasn’t rushed…. coming to P2P has helped me connect and understand my baby who I felt disconnected from during my pregnancy and her first year of life”
Mum not feeling an emotional bond with her baby
“I have found the P2P Clinic to be an invaluable support and I am immensely grateful for the assistance I have been so lucky to receive. During pregnancy, I was diagnosed with antenatal depression and anxiety and I was under a large amount of stress without any support systems in place. I was living in Perth and at that time I was estranged from my family. Circumstances meant that I was to be a single mum and I was unsure how I would cope financially, physically, and mentally. Having had a traumatic childhood and burnout from my work, I really appreciated the support given by the clinic that was always gentle, positive, and encouraging. The clinic became somewhere that I could check in with, as I was extremely isolated and alone. Post-pregnancy, my child and I continued to go to the clinic. Due to massive sleep deprivation and being alone, I struggled with depression and anxiety. I was able to delay (and usually avoid) any panic attacks by knowing that I could discuss my problems at the clinic. I fell through the cracks of usual support systems (mum groups, maternal health nurse supports). I was grateful to have the P2P clinic that cared about me and my child. I could not recommend highly enough that mothers in difficult situations be able to access the P2P Clinic as I have been so fortunate to do”
Former Client
“I was referred to the pregnancy to parenthood program by the mental health nurse in the antenatal clinic at the hospital. When I attended my appointment with the mental health nurse I had just moved to Western Australia, had no friends or family living close by. My toddler had an accident whilst we were living interstate and my husband was stuck in Western Australia, as this is his place of work. After the accident we decided it was important for us to be together as a family, therefore we decided to move. When I attended my first appointment, I was extremely overwhelmed and the way I was coping with my toddler’s accident was not healthy. I felt like an unfit parent, that I was not worthy to be a mother, and that I had failed my son. Pregnancy to Parenthood has helped my family in so many ways, and we will be forever grateful to them. The team worked with me to find ways for me to overcome my anxiety and fear. Most importantly, they reassured me that I am an amazing mum.. wow, that’s the first time I have actually said that about myself. If it wasn’t for this program I would be seriously concerned about where I would be in life. Where my relationship would be with my children, my husband, and myself. P2P has absolutely saved my life, and I’m sure it will continue to be extremely beneficial to others in a similar situation”
Former Client

Student Testimonials

“Doing a clinical placement at the Pregnancy to Parenthood (P2P) clinic has been an enriching experience. It has been a privilege to be a part of a service that offers much-needed support to families in the perinatal period and to see parents, infants, and parent-infant relationships benefit from the therapeutic work”
“In my time at P2P, I have observed how helping and supporting parents to understand their responses to their child can bring amazing and positive changes in their relationship and allow the infant to feel seen and understood which benefits the parent, child, and the whole family”
“P2P has been an exceptional and valuable experience - particularly for those families who are vulnerable and seek support in an area that is rarely addressed, but also for me in my journey to becoming a clinical psychologist”
“An integral part of my training experience has been having such supportive and sensitive supervision from Rochelle Matacz and Shannon Byrne who have carefully guided me and scaffolded my learning”
“Throughout this placement, I have been able to observe how much parents want to be the best parent they can be, but this goal can be unconsciously impacted by experiences, especially adverse experiences, from their childhood”
“As just one of the many people who experienced P2P and all you had to offer Rochelle, I can say that everything you taught me is alive in the work that I do. It is absolutely invaluable and continues to help me grow so much as a practitioner and as a person”
“Working with dyads during such a challenging period of adjustment has highlighted to me how important it is for women and men to receive support during the perinatal period, and for infants to receive early mental health interventions”
“I am a clinical psychology trainee and have been working in my placement at P2P for 10 months. P2P is a unique child and family centered service that looks at and addresses the well-being of parents and their infants up to 2 years of age, providing support to both. Mental health for parents is typically treated independently of the child. However, as the mental health of parents can also impact the child, P2P takes a family centered approach and works with the parent and child together”

Let’s get started

Our team are ready to support parents to be responsive, sensitive, and nurturing to their baby in their everyday parenting. Get in touch today to start your journey.

Get Started

Our most frequently asked questions

We are sure that you will have questions. Take a look at our most frequently asked questions or get in touch to learn more.

We provide psychological counselling sessions to expectant and new parents and their very young children. Families are eligible for P2P services if they have a diagnosis of, or are at risk of developing, a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder and who:

  • are pregnant; or
  • have a baby up to 24 months old.

 

Support is also provided to people who have experienced a stillbirth, miscarriage or termination within the last 12 months. Partners can access these specialised services as well.

There will be no costs associated with attending P2P.

No, you do not need a mental health care plan from your GP, however we encourage you to obtain one if you can. As part of our intake process, we will liaise with your GP and any other health professionals that you are seeing.

This is a tricky question to answer as each family has their own unique needs that require a different number of sessions. When you start at P2P you will provide you with as many sessions as you require within a 12-to-18-month period. Typically, families attend anywhere between 15 to 40 weekly sessions depending on your individual needs. If difficulties persist beyond 1 year and you need more long term and intensive support then we facilitate a transfer to an alternative, more appropriate service.

Yes, it is likely that your P2P practitioner will be a trainee as we are a student led clinic. Each trainee is carefully selected and closely supervised during the 6-to-12-month placement. The trainee is supervised weekly by an experienced PIMH Supervisor and he/she may join some of your counselling sessions.

Once your referral has been accepted, we will book an appointment with a practitioner as soon as possible. This will depend on the length of the waiting list, your availability and the availability of the practitioner.

If you have had your baby, we encourage you to bring him/her to sessions. The first 4 sessions will gather information needed to complete a comprehensive assessment. This includes exploring your needs and concerns, understanding what is contributing to your emotional difficulties and learning about your journey to parenthood and your own experiences of being parented. We also explore all the aspects of your relationship with your baby and how your baby’s development is tracking.

A written report including the information gathered across the 4 sessions is prepared by your practitioner and reviewed with you in a feedback session. Our practitioners are specially trained in perinatal and infant mental health and from here, goals are developed, and you (and partner) and your baby (if postpartum) will begin counselling sessions.