psychologists within maternity and child health care infant and child mental health in primary care

Psychologists within

Maternity and Child Health Care

Infant and Child Mental Health in Primary Care

Psychologist in Maternity and Child Health Care in Sweden

The Future of Primary Care in Europé IV, Gothenburg 3-4 sept 2012

Maternity and Child Health Care Centers

• Sweden boasts a unique system of health care for families, in that all Maternity and Child Health Care Centers are expected to adress the psychological needs of parents and infants.

• Comprising almost 100% of expectant parents, parents and infants and focusing mainly on the infant´s first years of life the services offer a unique opportunity for early mental health promotion



Holistic approach

• The centers have a system of multi-diciplinary practice, with psychologists working close to midwives and nurses, general practitioners, gynaecologists, paediatricians.

• This stresses the importance of a holistic approach in working with families and take account on psychological, medical and social factors.



Psychologists in Child and Maternity Health Care

• Psychologists within Child and Maternity Health Care Services work with proactive (promotion and prevention) mental health care and treatment at an early stage.



Goal

• The goal for the psychologist´s work is to promote mental health and prevent mental illness for expectant parents and families with small children.



Target groups

• expectant parents • families with infants (0-6 years) registered in the Child

and Maternity Health Care Centers and• the medical staff working in the centers



Competence

The clinical psychologists have special knowledge and training in

• psychological processes during pregnancy, delivery, perinatal period and parent-infant relation,

• developmental psychology,• family psychology, • methods for diagnosis and treatment of infants and their

families and• consultation techniques versus parents and medical staff.



Counsultation and further educationaimed at midwives, nurses, general practioners, gynaecologists, paediatricians within the Child and Maternity Health Care Services.

The purpose is to support the medical staff in psychosocial work and to contribute to increas knowledge concerning the psychological aspects of maternity, childbirth, parenthood and the developement of a child.

Methods



Assessment and diagnostic measures

at the request of parents, the psychologist evaluates and analyses questions regarding a child´s developement, psychological problem or/and psycho-somatic disorder.

Treatment and consultationsaimed at expectant parents and families with small children who express the need of help and/or whose problem are noticed by the medical staff.



Co-operation

with adjacent departments in health

care and with relevant authorites.

Development of methods and comprehensive

issuses regarding child and maternity health and parenting support.



Parenting support

Maternity and Child Health Care emphesizes the central role of parents in promoting child mental health and developement.

Central is the aim to enhance parental competence and the family´s ability to solve problems for themselves. When needed assist parents with personal support, information and advice.



The psychologist

• take part in universal parent groupes led by the midwives and nurses,

• initiate and work with specific parent groupes e.g. twin parents, families of adopted children, refugee families, families having sleep-, feeding or behaviour problems, women who have experienced Caesarean sectio and

• offers individual parent consultations.



Challanges

• The obvious need for greater investment in the area of infant and child mental health

• Integrate new knowledge about e.g risk and protective factors and sensitive periods into mental health preventive programmes and clinical pratice in Maternity and Child Health Care Services



• Develope or adopt methods for early identification of and early interventions within well-defined target groups e.g

- communication difficulties (language and social skills) in early childhood,

- parental mental illness,

- parent-infant relation problems,

- child abuse and neglect,

- domestic violence and

- parental substance abuse



• and improved communication, coordination and collaboration with parents, the adjacent departments/ clinics, social services and with relevant community network.



Thank You

Antonia Reuter

Psychologist, Manager

Psychologist in Maternity and Child Health Care

Gothenburg

E- post: [email protected]

psychologists within maternity and child health care infant and child mental health in primary care

Documents

maternity health care

child health care infant

primary care slide

future of primary care

child mental health

prevention mental health

unique system of health

europ iv