The Infant Mental Health Strand are delighted to tell you about the successful ‘maiden voyage’ online of our IMH Masterclass. We weren’t sure how to convert an experiential in-person two-day training to an online platform. In the end, we made a decision to provide the input over 4 Monday mornings in the month of May and this worked well with practically no technical hitches!
The topics covered remained the same and included an introduction to early brain development, input around attachment theory and it’s applications, skills based training around observation- both of the baby and the baby/caregiver relationship- time spent thinking about what we, as practitioners, bring to the work, discussion around the importance of remaining curious, reflective and compassionate in the work and finally an emphasis on how important a reflective supervision space is to supports us to do this. To keep it exciting and engaging, we used a range of teaching styles including quizzes, videos, mentimeter, breakout rooms and a live reflective supervision experience in different 3 breakout rooms, facilitated by our team.
There were 25 participants in attendance from a range of professional backgrounds and services including HSE social work, SLT, nursing and childcare workers to name but a few. Feedback was very positive and included statements such as…
“The course delivered over 4 weeks gave time to sit with the material and process it. The facilitators were very open and warm and knowledgeable, which brought the learning to life. I will definitely take aspects of this masterclass into my work with parents immediately.” Outreach worker from a women’s refuge
“This course provided me with time and space to reflect on my current process and what I can do to make contacts with the families I meet count more.” Occupational Therapist
“Well run in context of COVID-19. Appropriately pitched. Really enjoyed group work. I would work in an environment that empathises doing but course really made me think about being!”, Occupational Therapist
“While my work isn’t focused on infants the training was very helpful. It will inform my assessment skills in relation to early history. It will also inform how I support families where there are infant siblings. More generally the emphasis on reflective practice and the importance of making the time to ensure we can be present WITH families and not simply ‘for’ families was hugely beneficial in the world of KPIs and business models. Thanks to you all for the excellent training” CAMHS practitioner
“Excellent content delivered over the last few weeks, it really has broadened my awareness and knowledge of infant mental health and family centred care.” Speech & Language Therapist
“I felt zoom worked really well and am glad it was spread over the 4 works allowing time to digest the material. I thought the course content, materials and facilitators were excellent and interesting” Speech & Language Therapist
‘Thank you to the IMH team, for their professionalism, their attention to every detail, building my capacity in the practice of infant mental health and understand the importance of the parent-child relationship. This learning and experience from the Masterclass will never be forgotten’.
We are excited to be delivering another Masterclass to the Community Mothers in the coming weeks, and are hoping that all the hard work in preparing for this one will have paid off!