Infant-parent psychotherapy in South West London
Helping parents and babies find each other
Au Milieu offers free, specialist therapy to families on low incomes, from pregnancy until a baby turns two. We also train the professionals who work with babies in their first 1001 days.
Free for eligible familiesAt home, online or nearbyWe reply within 48 hours
How can we help?
I’m a parent or carer
Worried about how things are going with your baby, or about your bond during pregnancy? Talk to us. It’s free if you’re eligible.
I’m a professional referring a family
Health visitors, GPs, midwives, social workers and perinatal teams can refer families to us directly.
I’m a clinician who wants to train
Our two-year Postgraduate Diploma and CPD seminars build specialist skills in infant-parent work.
What we do
The first 1001 days shape a lifetime
Infant-parent psychotherapy (IPP) is a preventative, psychodynamic therapy that can begin in pregnancy. It helps parents make sense of their baby’s feelings, and their own, so the relationship between them can grow secure.
We work with families who are carrying a lot: difficult early experiences, poor mental health, isolation, trauma or loss. Our services are free for parents on low incomes, from pregnancy until a baby is 24 months old.
1001
days from pregnancy to age two, when early relationships take shape
Free
for eligible families on low incomes
5
South West London boroughs where we work
2016
the Churchill Fellowship that shaped our model
How it works
What happens when you get in touch
Get in touch
Email us or ask a professional to refer you. You can also download our referral form and send it to us.
We talk
We reply within 48 hours and arrange a first conversation about you, your baby and what you need.
We meet you where you are
Sessions take place at home, online or somewhere local, such as a children’s centre or hospital.
We notice change together
We use validated tools to track progress, so you can see how far you and your baby have come.
Our services
What we offer families and professionals
Infant-parent psychotherapy
Therapy for parents and babies together, to help them build the best possible relationship.
Video Interaction Guidance
Short films of everyday moments with your baby, watched together to notice and build on what is going well.
Attachment therapy
Specialist support for fostered and adopted children and the adults who care for them.
Consultation and training
Specialist parent-infant consultation and training for teams who work with babies.
Clinical supervision
Supervision for professionals working with low-income, high-risk parents-to-be and parents of babies up to 24 months.
In parents’ words
“I feel lighter now”
I feel lighter now, like some of the feelings have been able to go out of me.
A mother we worked with
I’ve come a long way since our first session. My baby wants me, not the toy I’m using to distract her.
A mother we worked with
This work is helping me remember so much. I realise I don’t want to force my baby to be something he isn’t.
A mother we worked with
Case studies
Stories from our work
Shared anonymously. Every family’s story is different.
Finding calm after a premature birth
A mother living with high anxiety after her baby arrived early. Intensive infant-parent work helped her recover her confidence without medication, drew in support from the wider family, and helped her prepare for a healthy second birth.
Making room for grief
Seen as ‘difficult’ on the ward, this mother was grieving the loss of an earlier baby. Within five sessions her anxiety eased, her bond with her surviving baby grew, and staff came to understand her differently.
Keeping a mother and baby together
With her baby at risk of being removed, therapy helped a mother bond during pregnancy and earn the court’s trust. Three years on, mother and child are still safely together.
Breaking a pattern
A mother with a diagnosis of EUPD, whose older children had been removed, received long-term therapy alongside her partner. Together they worked to break intergenerational patterns, and social services stepped back once their baby turned one.
Training
Specialise in infant-parent psychotherapy
For psychotherapists, midwives, perinatal teams and other professionals, particularly in the NHS, who want deep, practical skills in working with babies and parents.
This course has been amazing. It’s helped me become more of a therapist in the room.
Systemic Therapist and Counselling Psychologist, Perinatal IPP Therapist
Postgraduate Diploma
Psychoanalytic theory, infant observation and supervised clinical practice (200 hours for psychodynamic therapists), taught by leading clinicians.
CPD seminars
Half-day seminars on poverty, culture, attachment and more, from experts in infant mental health.
Support our work
Help a family get the start they deserve
Our clinical work is free for families who could never afford private therapy. That is only possible because of donations, grants and people who fundraise for us.
If you’re a UK taxpayer, Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 you give, at no cost to you.
Latest news
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Concerned about your baby?
You don’t need a diagnosis, or to be in crisis, to talk to us. Email the team and we’ll reply within 48 hours.