PANDA offers full-day professional development workshops for professionals working with expecting and new parents and their families.
The PANDA workshop planned for Monday 11 May 2020, ‘Postnatal Psychosis: Recognising, Referring and Supporting Affected Families’ has now been postponed due to coronavirus-related health advice.
PANDA is now in planning to expand our online training offerings in the coming weeks.
Please sign up to our email list to be notified when webinars are available, and when our face-to-face workshops are rescheduled.
These workshops are designed for maternity care providers, maternal and child health professionals, family services staff, playgroup facilitators, allied health and mental health professionals.
The workshops cover a wide range of topics relevant to perinatal mental health. They bring together the practice wisdom of leading clinicians, research, learning and case studies from National Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Helpline, and the lived experience of PANDA’s peer education volunteers, who share their own stories to give insight into how perinatal health professionals can make a real difference for affected families.
“Relevant, current and delivered well. Case studies are a great way to gain increased awareness, understanding and insight.” - MCH Nurse
“Ideas and suggestions that I can take back to the unit to improve our practice.” - Maternity Unit Manager
“Excellent combination of facts and insights, helpful interventions and outcomes. Very practical info that I will be able to adapt info informing my practice to better respond to mothers’ needs.” – Psychologist
Complex Trauma Disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder in the Perinatal Period (November 2019)
Featuring Prof Jayashri Kulkarn from Monash Alfred Research Centre, Josephine Beetson and Pip Bradley from Spectrum and Rita Brown from Spectrum/BPD Foundation, with lived experience speakers and PANDA counsellors.
Emotional Wellbeing Education: Activities, Resources and Ideas (September 2019)
Featuring PANDA’s Community Education and Training Coordinator Sarah Marlowe and three peer educators running an interactive workshop and role-plays on how to deliver PANDA’s emotional wellbeing activities in new parent groups, playgroups and antenatal classes.
Anxiety, Perfectionism and OCD in the Perinatal Period: Understanding the signs and associated risks, how to explore with your clients, where to refer and how to support (June 2019)
Featuring Dr Celin Gelgec, Clinical Psychologist and Director of the Melbourne Wellbeing Group, Renee Tsitas from Anxiety Recover Centre Victoria, PANDA education volunteers and counsellors.
Trauma: How to work with families to help recognise, prevent and health trauma experiences in the perinatal period (April 2019)
Featuring Professor Louise Newman, The Women’s Mental Health Service; Rhea Dempsey, educator and birth trauma counsellor, PANDA education volunteers and counsellors.
Body image and Eating Disorders in Pregnancy and Early Parenthood (Dec 2018)
Presented in partnership with Eating Disorders Victoria, featuring Lauren Bruce, Rebecca Lister and volunteer educator, along with Prof Helen Skouteris, Monash Warwick Alliance Joint Professor of Healthcare Improvement and Implementation Science, and PANDA counsellors.
Family Violence: Working with the infant; engaging Aboriginal families (June 2018)
Presented in partnership with Djirra (formerly the Aboriginal Family Violence Prevention and Legal Service), featuring CEO Antoinette Braybrook, Wendy Bunston and midwifery, MCH and Aboriginal Health staff of the Victorian Aboriginal Health Service.
How to Open Pandora’s Box: How to have difficult conversations about emotional wellbeing and mental health in pregnancy and early parenthood (April 2018)
Featuring Dr Chris Murphy, Leadership consultant and trainer, Lecturer at RMIT University Graduate School of Business and Law; PANDA education volunteers and counsellors.
Anxiety: How it affects expecting and new parents, and how you can make a difference (Dec 2017)
Featuring Dr Bronwyn Leigh, Clinical Psychologist, parenting consultant and Director of the Centre for Perinatal Psychology; Renee Tsitas from Anxiety Recover Centre Victoria; PANDA education volunteers and counsellors.
It takes a Village: Supporting the emotional and mental wellbeing of expecting and new parents in group settings: from therapeutic groups to first time parent groups and community playgroups (August 2017)
Featuring Prof Jeanette Milgrom, Parent Infant Research Centre, PANDA’s Supported Playgroup Training Coordinator Mary Edmonds and speakers from Playgroup Victoria, Peachtree Perinatal Wellness, Moorabool Emotional Wellbeing Group, Mother Goose, Rainbow Families Victoria, Baby Makes Three and many other groups and organisations involved with antenatal and postnatal group-based support and education.
Psychosis, bipolar, OCD and BPD in the perinatal period: What they look like and what to do (May 2017)
Featuring Professor Anne Buist, Director of Women’s Mental Health at Austin Health and Chair of Women's Mental Health at the University of Melbourne; MCH Nurse Sandy Haddock, PANDA education volunteers and counsellors.