Families In Mind
Families In Mind is a free and confidential service that supports parents in the transition to parenthood. It aims to improve emotional wellbeing, parenting confidence and early relationships with baby.
How the service works
Families In Mind aims to support families experiencing mild to moderate difficulties who would like to improve coping and overcome challenges.
You might be:
- Feeling low in mood or anxious
- Feeling worried or stressed
- Feeling lonely or overwhelmed
- Not feeling confident as a parent
- Not enjoying being a parent
- Finding it difficult to get to know your new baby
- Wanting to learn strategies to improve coping as a parent
Services are offered to people prior to having a baby, once baby is born and until the child is two years old.
The team includes Specialist Health Visitors, Community Nursery Nurses and a Mental Health Nurse who aim to deliver evidence-based support in a flexible and adaptable way to help meet your needs.
They offer a range of different services including:
- Triple P for Baby – an 8-week programme where parents engage in a range of activities to learn strategies to develop a positive relationship with their baby, support their development, and look after their own emotional wellbeing.
- Bright Beginnings – a 6-week closed group programme where parents discuss how parenthood can affect emotional wellbeing and share ideas of what might be helpful.
- Emotional Wellbeing visits – an evidence-informed intervention where health visitors visit parents to discuss one-to-one any strategies and ideas to support emotional wellbeing.
- Video interactive guidance – using video to help understand and improve communication and build trusting relationships between parents and their child.
- Newborn Behaviour Observation – a one-to-one session with a parent and their newborn baby (up to three months) to explore what the baby likes and dislikes and how the parent can understand their signals.
Families in Mind is part of Portsmouth’s Family Hub and Start for Life Programme.
Where are they based?
Appointments are delivered at any of the five Family Hubs in Portsmouth. These are at:
- Buckland Family Hub, Turner Road, PO1 4PN
- Milton Park Family Hub, Perth Road, PO4 8EU
- Northern Parade Family Hub, Doyle Avenue, PO2 9NE
- Somerstown Family Hub, Omega Street, PO5 4LP
- Paulsgrove Family Hub, Cheltenham Road, PO6 3PL
Sessions might also be offered at another location agreed between the team and parent.
There is also a ‘Play and Chat’ session hosted by the team every Monday, 1.30pm-3pm at Milton Park Family Hub.
Accessing support
Visit the Families In Mind page on Family Assist and complete the online self-referral form. A member of the team will contact you within two weeks to discuss your referral and how they can support you.
Please note – you must be registered and logged into Family Assist to access the form.
You can also contact your Midwife, Family Hub Champion, Mental Health Nurse or the Families in Mind Team who can also help support you with a referral to the service.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about Families In Mind
No, you can self-refer to Families In Mind (or be referred by another professional). You can do this online through Family Assist – or speak to your midwife, Family Hub champion, mental health nurse or a member of the team who can help with your referral.
Families In Mind is delivered by Solent NHS Trust. The team includes Specialist Health Visitors, Community Nursery Nurses and a Mental Health Nurse.
Yes, all the services provided by Families In Mind involve discussing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours with a trained professional – this might be one-to-one or in a group. Find out what services the team offers on here.
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