About Us & How to Support
We provide therapeutic interventions for babies and their caregivers ‘in the midst’ of the family to ensure that parents develop the best possible relationship with their baby. Our services are free but not limited to for low income, high risk parents-to-be and parents of babies up to 24 months (the first 1001 critical days of life).
Our Mission
- Committed to shaping the mental health and well-being of infants and their families through timely and effective early interventions.
- Led by Dr. Yvonne Osafo and supported by a dedicated team of specialists focused on building strong foundations of love, care, and resilience.
- Integrating services to become more equipped for babies within the first 1001 days of life
In a world where early intervention is crucial, Au Milieu Infant Parent Clinic emerges as a beacon of hope, dedicated to building strong foundations of love, care, and resilience for every child and family. Here’s why investors should join us on this transformative journey:
Undetected parent-infant relationship issues, fragmented support services, and delayed interventions are pressing challenges affecting infants and caregivers today. Our approach offers comprehensive care tailored to infants, parents, and families, guided by a team of interdisciplinary experts. By providing timely interventions aligned with NICE guidelines, we aim to mitigate rising mental health concerns in infants and caregivers.
Specialised parent-infant relationship interventions are often unavailable in existing provisions, leaving a significant gap in mental health support. With statistics revealing that up to 15% of babies require specialised interventions beyond universal services, the demand for our services is clear. Moreover, the NHS Long Term Plan’s commitment to opening 400 Infant Parent clinics underscores the urgency of addressing this need.
Our engagement with communities, stakeholders, and organisations ensures that our clinic’s services are rooted in local needs and priorities. By actively involving communities in the development of our initiatives, we foster inclusivity and relevance, essential for driving meaningful change.
Research and surveys highlight the critical role of parent-infant bonding in healthy child development. Our evidence-based approach, validated by successful pilot programmes with the NHS, ensures that our services deliver impactful outcomes. Continuous evaluation and adaptation further reinforce our commitment to excellence.
Investors can trust that their contributions will be strategically allocated to key areas such as Infant Parent Therapy sessions for families who need our support most. With ongoing discussions with our board of trustees, we ensure financial prudence, transparency, and accountability.
Investing in Au Milieu is not just about financial returns; it’s about contributing to a greater cause. By supporting us, investors play a vital role in revolutionising mental health and psychological wellness for parents and babies. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of millions.
We invite potential investors to join us on this journey of transformation. Book a meeting with us and be a part of our mission to revolutionise mental health and psychological wellness for parents and babies.
We provide therapeutic help for families within the local community to build stronger infant-parent bonds and positive relationships, by offering the primary caregiver (usually, but not invariably, the mother) a range of therapeutic interventions and support to develop a secure attachment within the infant-parent relationship, such as:
- Infant-Parent Psychotherapy, to help parents have the best possible relationship with their baby.
- Video Interaction Guidance (VIG)
- Keys to Interactive Parenting Assessment & Scale (KIPS)
- Specialist parent-infant consultation/training
- Attachment therapy for fostered and adopted children
We offer supervision to support the professional workforce of professionals working with low income, high risk parents-to-be and parents of babies up to 24 months
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We Provide
- Infant-Parent Psychotherapy, to help parents have the best possible relationship with their baby
- Training and Supervision to support professionals who are working with babies aged up to 24 months, to help them to identify which babies to refer to our service
- Video Interaction Guidance
- Attachment Therapy for fostered and adopted children
We provide therapeutic help for families within the local community to build stronger infant-parent bonds and positive relationships, by offering the primary caregiver (usually, but not invariably, the mother) a range of therapeutic interventions and support to develop a secure attachment within the infant-parent relationship, such as:
- Infant-Parent Psychotherapy, to help parents have the best possible relationship with their baby.
- Video Interaction Guidance (VIG)
- Keys to Interactive Parenting Assessment & Scale (KIPS)
- Specialist parent-infant consultation/training
- Attachment therapy for fostered and adopted children
We offer supervision to support the professional workforce of professionals working with low income, high risk parents-to-be and parents of babies up to 24 months
How We Work
- We collaborate closely with the wider multidisciplinary team of professionals within the boroughs who work with babies and their families, to provide a warm, safe context within which the work of Infant-Parent Psychotherapy can be delivered
- We work in the home, online and in a variety of community settings, such as Children Centres, hospitals and voluntary sector settings
- The service is needs-led / Parent-led
- Practitioners work to the same principles and approaches
- Validated tools and measures are used to capture the impact of the intervention
‘Milieu’ is the social environment, the defining atmosphere or physical location in which a person lives and develops. The name Au Milieu means ‘in the midst’. It suggests a hands-on, therapeutic way of working alongside clients, to help them learn healthier ways of thinking, relating, acting and behaving, within the context of the family and society.
The organisation has two overarching goals:
- to train and equip professionals with the specialist skills required to work with the delicate infant-parent relationship
- to provide specialist therapeutic interventions for parents who are struggling to bond with their babies during pregnancy and in the first two years of life (the first 1001 critical days).
Project pioneer, Dr Yvonne Osafo from Mitcham, is a psychoanalytic infant-parent psychotherapist (IPP), a profession which encourages good early relationships between parents and their children to offer them the best possible start in life. Dr Osafo has received grant funding from the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust, to pilot an infant-family clinic providing IPP to low-income and high-risk families. This will be for parents who have undergone multiple adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), who are struggling with multiple accumulative risk factors / stresses, single-parent families, care leavers, victims of domestic abuse, alcohol, drugs or sexual abuse, those with poor mental health (such as post-partum psychosis) or who are struggling to form a positive relationship with their babies. Dr Osafo works with a specialist team of infant-parent psychotherapists and consultants. The pilot is informed by Dr Osafo’s doctorate research in psychoanalytic parent-infant psychotherapy and a Winston Churchill travel Fellowship to Czechia, Norway, Sweden and the USA in 2016, to explore best practice in infant parent psychotherapy. The purpose of the Churchill sponsorship was to ‘travel to learn and return to inspire’ the UK workforce through entrepreneurial projects.
Dr Osafo was consultant to the setting up of the Croydon Parent-Infant Partnership, where she was Clinical Lead from 2015 to November 2020.
Who can be referred?
We provide therapeutic interventions for babies and their caregivers ‘in the midst’ of the family to ensure that parents develop the best possible relationship with their baby. Our services are free but not limited to for low income, high risk parents-to-be and parents of babies up to 24 months (the first 1001 critical days of life).
- mothers who were pregnant during lockdown or babies born during lockdown; see the Best Beginnings report
- care leavers
- victims of domestic violence (must no longer be in abusive relationship)
- have been dependent on alcohol and/or drugs (but receiving help)
- those with poor mental health such as mothers who have suffered from post-partum psychosis (we collaborate with adult mental health service)
- post-natal depression, anxiety disorders and OCD as well as PTSD, including birth trauma
- premature / VLBW babies
- babies must be under 24 months
Referred families must live in the boroughs of Merton, Sutton, Wandsworth, Kingston and Richmond.
Our Brochures
support for parents
If you’re worried about your baby and would like support with your relationship, you can get in touch with us directly: Download our leaflet to find out more
Download Our Brochure
Download Our Brochure on our mission, what we provide, how we work and who can be referred
Au Milieu Course Leaflet
Curious about working with infant-parent relationships?
Concerned about your baby?
Download our Referral Form here and book a Consultation via the Form below or email it to us at team@au-milieu.org and we will get back to you within 48 hours of receiving your enquiry.