PANDA training: Sharing knowledge, skills and stories

Our approach

PANDA training aims to help health professionals and all care providers working with expecting and new parents to better understand and support those experiencing perinatal mental distress and illness, including anxiety and depression.

Our training is known for its focus on ‘how to be helpful’ – on the knowledge, skills and practices that make a real difference for affected families. And for integrating diverse lived experience stories with up-to-date research, and with data and practice wisdom shared from the PANDA Perinatal Mental Health Helpline.

PANDA started in Victoria, where we have a long history of delivering face-to-face workshops, inservice training and university guest lectures with state government support. Prior to COVID-19, practitioners from other states often travelled to attend our one-day workshops, and we were also sometimes funded to deliver training or participate in conferences around Australia.

In 2020-21, in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency, our training moved online. Our ticketed workshops became free webinars, and we established a new national online learning resource, the PANDA Learning Hub. This shift enabled us to support and train many more perinatal care providers, including in rural and regional areas and around Australia.

Anyone can now access free online learning via the Learning Hub, where you will find webinar recordings, short courses, community webcasts and more. We also offer online training and support for playgroup, supported playgroup, support group and new parent group facilitators.

Alongside our online learning resources, PANDA also provides a secondary consultation service, through which experienced Helpline counsellors can provide individual advice and guidance to support your work with clients and families.

Webinars and interactive learning: sign up for updates

PANDA continues to deliver free webinars on a range of topics relevant to perinatal mental distress, illness and associated risks. For updates, sign up to PANDA e-news. Places in the live webinars are capped to support interactivity, and they do book out quickly! All are recorded for ongoing access via the Learning Hub, simply register for access. Participation certificates are available whether you attend live or watch the recording.

We are now developing a series of interactive online learning modules and courses for the Learning Hub. These will cover the core knowledge, skills and behaviours needed to support clients and families experiencing perinatal mental distress, illness and associated risks, including acute mental health decline, self-harm, suicidality, substance misuse, family violence and risk to child. Subscribe to PANDA e-news for updates on this work, and on our other services and resources.

Training and presentation requests

PANDA has some capacity to participate in online professional development activities, such as webinars and conferences, hosted around Australia. Please complete the request form (link below) or contact Sarah Marlowe on sarah.marlowe@panda.org.au with enquiries.

With Victorian government support, we also have some capacity to offer inservices (generally delivered online) to MCH services and other health, mental health and family support organisations in Victoria, including guest lectures to pre-service training courses. These are delivered by PANDA trainers and peer education volunteers, who share their lived experience and consumer perspectives on the needs of clients and families. There is no cost, but capacity to meet requests may depend on availability and the expected participant numbers.

Current offerings include:

• How PANDA can Support your Work with Clients and Families: 45 to 60 minutes An overview of perinatal mental health, PANDA services and resources
• An introduction to Perinatal Mental Health: 90 mins to 2 hours An introduction to perinatal mental health, a lived experience story and introduction to the Six Approaches for your Practice Toolbox care provider practice tool (training suitable for volunteer-based organisations and healthcare providers with minimal mental health training)
• Emotional Wellbeing Activities for New Parent Groups: 3.5 hours with break An interactive workshop for MCH nurses who facilitate Council-run new parent groups: includes a copy of PANDA’s Emotional Wellbeing Education Kit. See our Groups page for other group facilitator training and support, including PANDA’s Guide to Groups.

Complete the request form or email sarah.marlowe@panda.org.au with enquiries.