Parent-infant focused IAPT (psychological therapy services)
Easy access to psychological therapies for parents is available through the parent infant mental health IAPT Babies Can’t Wait agreement. This means that expectant mothers and their partners and parent with an infant under the age of 2 are fast tracked into therapy.
Each area of Greater Manchester has its own IAPT service. IAPT was set up nationally in 2009 to improve access to psychological therapy by developing more local psychological therapy teams.
Psychological therapy is also referred to as talking therapy. The types of talking therapy offered by your local IAPT team will usually include guided self help and cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Some teams also offer interpersonal therapy (IPT), counselling , mindfulness based cognitive therapy and EMDR ( a trauma focused therapy). Find out more about these therapies
Each local IAPT service offers a range of web based and telephone treatment with some services also offering individual and group therapy. All the therapies offered by IAPT are researched to be effective in treating common mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, OCD, phobias and PTSD.
Each local IAPT team have perinatal champions who have received additional training in perinatal parent infant mental health. These champions can support their team in approaching your care with the perinatal frame of mind. This means that your therapist will try to consider your needs, your babies needs and your relationship with your baby when working with you .
Across Greater Manchester all IAPT services prioritise parents during the antenatal and postnatal period up until the infant is 2 years old. Greater Manchester IAPT services are keen to work alongside our colleagues in other teams such as midwifery, health visiting, social care and parent infant services in order to offer a package of sensitive accessible care to parents and their infants.
Some IAPT services offer specialist perinatal group wellbeing and therapy programmes.
Mental health problems during the perinatal period can affect any parent or primary care giver; commonly experienced mental health problems during the perinatal period include depression, anxiety, OCD, phobias including a phobia of childbirth, birth trauma and PTSD. IAPT services are here to help you so that you and your baby can get off to the best start.
To find how to access your local IAPT service you can speak with your GP, midwife, health visitor or go to the following websites: