Pregnancy and the first year (Perinatal Clinical Service)
“Good parenting is at the heart of a child's wellbeing and development.
And parent’s wellbeing is key to their ability to raise their children...When mothers' and fathers' own wellbeing is under threat then their capacity to parent successfully diminishes.  Their enjoyment of the experience of
raising children is hampered.”
Parenting and Wellbeing report 2009
As well as being a time of joy, pregnancy and the post-natal period is a time when women and their partners are particularly vulnerable to developing psychological and relationship problems. Most expectant parents and mothers and fathers struggle with their emotions during pregnancy and after having a baby. This is natural at a time of such upheaval and psychological adjustment. If parents are feeling very anxious, stressed or depressed however, it can be very difficult to give a baby all the care and love it needs. This can be very distressing for parents and psycho-biological studies also show that such difficulties can have long-term negative effects on a child's emotional, cognitive and social development. Getting help as soon as possible is important both for parents and for their baby.

Fortunately, there is evidence that psychological help can make a real difference in improving the mental health of both parents and their children.

We know that when it comes to pre and post - natal problems, early psychological therapy has been shown to be the treatment of choice. The most recent guidelines on antenatal and postnatal mental health (2007) from NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) reflect this and state that early psychological help should be made readily available for pregnant and breastfeeding women because of the increased risks of using medicines at these times and because of the potential long-term consequences of psychological difficulties upon the foetus and infant.
Antenatal and  postnatal difficulties include: depression, anxiety, panic, difficulties in bonding with your baby, eating disorders, obsessive compulsive disorder and post traumatic stress.

At Facing Parenthood our dedicated multidisciplinary team of highly trained and experienced professionals offer a Perinatal Consultation and Therapy Service  which provides the early specialist clinical assessment and therapy to help expectant and new parents and their babies with difficulties during pregnancy and the first year and help to prevent these difficulties from becoming enduring problems.
We offer help ranging from single consultations to ongoing therapy for psychological or relationship problems linked to:

- Pregnancy, birth or parenting
- Pre- or post-natal: depression, anxiety, obsessional symptoms, eating disorders
- Recovering from a traumatic birth
- Bonding and attachment
- Crying, feeding or sleeping
- Concerns about baby's development    
- Difficulties in the couple relationship
- The couple's sexual relationship
- Separation or divorce
- Coping as a single parent
- Parenting a child that is not biologically your own
- Sibling rivalry
- Coping with illness, death or disability of a parent or child
- Fertility problems,  miscarriage or stillbirth
- Concerns that problems from your own childhood will affect your parenting


In order to provide the most appropriate help, we have brought together a multi-disciplinary team offering a range of psychological therapies.


Our team includes:

Clinical Psychologists
Child Psychologists
Adult and Child Psychotherapists
Psychoanalysts
Couple Therapists
Family Therapists
Midwife Counsellors
Consultant Adult and Child Psychiatrists


Clinical Approaches:

Consultation to assess problems
Brief Counselling
Psychotherapy
CBT
Parent-infant therapy
Couple therapy
Family therapy
Group therapy
Psychiatric Consultation
Day time evening and weekend appointments available
Fees may be recoverable under medical insurance
We are recognised registered providers with leading U.K. Health Insurance Companies
Service covers North and Central London
020 8444 9160
All Facing Parenthood therapists are registered with their respective professional bodies.
www.facing-parenthood.com      Daytime Evening and Weekend Appointments.      020 8444 9160