What is a Parent-Infant Relationship Team?
The Nurture Families parent-infant relationship team promotes the importance of the first relationship with the baby and parent. They work directly with parents and babies in the earliest days providing therapeutic support to strengthen these relationships.
For colleagues, we offer consultancy, webinars and reflective spaces to support and advance practice.
Led by Clinical Psychologists, our multi-disciplinary team includes parent-infant therapists with focused expertise across early childhood, midwifery and health visiting.
"Young children experience their world as an environment of relationships, and these relationships affect virtually all aspects of their development .”
-National Scientific Council on the Developing Child (USA)
Supporting the Early Childhood Workforce
Nurture Families provides consultation and resources to support practitioners working with families across Worcestershire and Herefordshire. Our services include:
- Case consultation to help practitioners uplift the baby's voice, understand infant mental health and attachment needs.
- Connecting practitioners to the right services for children under 4.
- Advising on networks that can support parents and infant mental health.
- Assisting with communicating young children's needs to agencies.
- Discussing developmental milestones, like difficulties transitioning to nursery or school.
- Linking behaviours with attachment or relationship difficulties.
- Supporting care planning, possible referrals to other agencies, and treatment formulations.
- Formulating referrals to Nurture Families for parent-infant therapy or groups. Supporting referrals to NHS CAMHS Under 5s service where appropriate.
- Ongoing case consultation (different to and not clinical supervision).
- Regular reflective spaces for certain Early Years Practitioners, especially those with advanced training who are supporting parents and children.
Our Expertise
Our parent-infant relationship team is at the heart of Nurture Families’ work. Launched in partnership with the Koala Tree, we recognise that supporting families in the child’s earliest years is vital. Together with the support of the Parent Infant Foundation, we have established our team in the community, working on-the-ground with families directly.
Our parent-infant relationship team is considered an essential part of family wellbeing and strong outcomes. As such, Nurture Families provides best practices and support to early childhood professionals working with children and families across Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Our Impact
100% of Mums reported an increase in their wellbeing, their baby's wellbeing.
Those who felt anxious when leaving the house reduced by 50%
85% of Mums reported that they were more likely to engage with other supports.