2 years part-time (first intake January 2024)

Accredited Psychodynamic/ Integrative Psychotherapist (adult, child, family)

Previous clinical experience working in a psychoanalytically-informed way Experience as a professional in a related field, as part of a multidisciplinary team

• Experience working with the early years
• Good communication and IT skills; written and oral English
• Ability to work independently

For Postgraduate Dip Infant-Parent Psychotherapy course:

We aim for most of our training to be face-to-face although if travel is an issue some aspects of the learning can be accessed virtually.

Our full, specialist training comprises of five modules and is expected to be two years duration, in accordance with your individual training needs. 

Our core aims – to be baby-centred, relationship-focussed, culturally informed, village-minded – will be tangible throughout each module, so that you are able to work with the delicate infant-parent relationship as well as reflect the diverse strengths and needs of your local community.

Grounded in psychoanalytic theory, developmental psychology, neuroscience and an awareness of international perspectives, these core modules are essential for all accredited infant-parent psychotherapists:

Module 1

This module consists of 5 seminars and is available face to face, monthly on a Saturday afternoon.

These seminars are approximately two and a half hours long, assuming questions and discussion. Each session will include electronic handouts and participants may have a copy of all the slides after the final session.

The Course will cover:

1) The background to attachment theory and the way this enables us to examine the importance of early relationships for many different domains of development. Also, how the attachment relationship develops in early childhood, with different patterns of attachment behaviour being an adaptation to the quality of the relationship with the caregiver. This will include video demonstrating the Strange Situation Procedure, the ‘gold standard’ of assessing attachment for research purposes.

2) What happens when the attachment relationship becomes a source of stress or fear; and how the different attachment patterns, or internal working models, are represented
in adulthood (including partner choice). There will be a short film of life in a Russian Baby Home to illustrate the extremes of disordered attachment.

3) Early neurological development, including the evolutionary importance of plasticity, and how the structure and function of the brain are affected by the quality of significant relationships in the first three years of life. This will include information on sensitive periods, the stress / survival responses and some of the neuro-hormonal effects of maltreatment.

4) The larger ecology of family relationships and how a number of known risks may impact the caregiving relationship and thus the social and emotional development of the baby. This includes data from the ACE study and an emphasis on the importance of preventing toxic stress in infancy. Plus, examples of different therapeutic interventions used to promote early relational health, including a video of parent
infant psychotherapy in action (this may prolong the session).

5) The final session recapitulates some of the central information from previous ones, examining how violent behaviour, a lack of self-regulation, and many forms of mental illness may have their roots in the experiences of infancy.

For further details of how to book please contact
Au Milieu at: team@au-milieu.org

Module 2: Infant observation Studies (70 hours)

Infant observation studies are a critical component of training to work with the infant-parent relationship. The capacity to maintain an observationally minded and non-judgemental attitude is fundamental to the work of an infant-parent psychotherapist. 

A minimum of 70 hours of supervised observation of an infant during the first two years of life, weekly up until the second birthday. If not already completed in a previous training,

Observation visits will take place weekly in the baby’s home. The aim of the infant observation module is for you to gain experience and understanding of infant development (from birth until 24 months), in dynamic relationship with primary caregivers, in the midst of the family setting and wider relational environment.

At Au Milieu, we see identity development as culturally mediated, inextricably linked with a family’s cultural milieu, heritage and ways of being together. We acknowledge that this has implications for how infant mental health is understood and addressed:

Family culture is present in all caregiving interactions. It is within culturally informed relationships that all development unfolds. Children learn to experience, regulate, and express emotion as defined by their cultural communities. Children form protective relationships with caregivers that can ensure their safety within inequitable and racist
environments. Children bring their cultural self to learning environments using exploration, yet some are encouraged while others are punished Stroud © 2021

Module 3: Organisational observations (psychiatric/ neonatal settings, 20 hours each)

This will be essential to better understand infant-parent relationships in the context of specialist settings and will equip you with experience and understanding of organisational defences, systemic unconscious bias and the impact of this on infant development.

You will be expected to take part in at least two additional short-term supervised placements, one each in a high intensity baby-care context (minimum of 20 hours each)

• Specialist infant care setting, i.e. Neonatal intensive care units
• Mother-baby psychiatric unit15

Module 4: Infant development theory and application to IPP practice

The aims of this module are two-fold: to equip you with a deeper understanding of psychoanalytic-informed theories pertaining to infant development in relation to infant-caregiver relationships, as linked to the process and practice of infant-parent psychotherapy itself:

a) Infant development theory and research relevant to IPP practice
b) Clinical applications of IPP theory

This split module will involve the study of and critical reflection on the theory and practice of psychoanalytic IPP from referral to ending. In addition to the requirements for child or adult psychotherapy training, this aspect of the module (in conjunction with your reflective supervision module) will enable you to cultivate understanding and clinical competence in areas such as:

•  Development of personality/identity
•  Competence in a range of infant-specific contexts
•  Infant-parent psychotherapy assessment and relational health diagnosis
•  Research, evaluation and outcome monitoring
•  Psychodynamic skills working with ‘ghosts and angels in the nursery’
•  Autism and infancy
•  Culturally sensitive safeguarding, risk, legal & ethical issues
•  Working within a range of cross-cultural and disciplinary contexts.
•  Engagement with a variety of family constellations
•  Engagement with a diversity of agencies involved with families
•  Security and confidentiality in the use of technology and clinical record

MODULE 5: Culturally reflective supervised IPP practice

Two-hour clinical seminars will take place fortnightly over a period of two years. In total, you must undertake 200 infant parent psychotherapy (IPP) clinical practice hours. This will feature a balanced caseload between unborn, younger and older babies across 0-2 developmental stages, from pregnancy to 24 months. These families will be referred for IPP from a variety of organisations with a range of presenting difficulties impacting on the developing infant-parent relationship. Part of this work will of course be to cultivate relationships with the network around families.

Supervision seminars will naturally consider IPP clinical, ethical and practical issues outlined in Module 4. The trainee will be supported to think about the therapeutic use of outcome measures, video interactive feedback, effective multidisciplinary working and confidential information-sharing, as well as evaluating their own and their colleagues’ clinical approach and effectiveness. Placements should be in the context of a specialised infant mental health team working with the caregiver and infant together to improve the quality of their relationship. 

As with Child Psychotherapy practice placements, Infant-Parent Psychotherapy placements must not include independent private practice (UKCP Child psychotherapy SETs item 6.2). Supervision for trainee Infant-Parent Psychotherapy must normally be with an appropriately qualified and experienced Parent-Infant Psychotherapist.

This supervision module will enable you to cultivate understanding of IPP from referral to ending and develop clinical competence in the following areas:

● Infant-parent psychotherapy assessment and technique – awareness of diagnosis,
specialised measures and a range of interventions for assessing and supporting
infants social/ emotional development and family relationships.
● Range of Models of Assessment: This must include knowledge of other specialised
measures for assessing infants, their social and emotional development, and their
family relationships. Additionally, trainees need to develop the capacity to
contribute to a multidisciplinary assessment of the needs of the infant and their
family where necessary.
● Specific awareness of the infant throughout all stages of the work.
● Recognition of signs and signals of infant communication.
● Supervised application culturally-sensitive IPP techniques
● Specific awareness and ability to work within different cross-cultural and disciplinary
contexts.
● Engagement with different family constellations
● Multidisciplinary working
● Diversity and equality criteria
● Legal Issues

● Ethical Issues
● Safeguarding and Child Protection
● Clinical risk assessment
● Security and confidentiality in the use of technology and clinical records

The Regulatory Framework

Au Milieu training adheres to the UKCP Standards for the Education and Training (SETs) of infant-parent psychotherapists, which have been developed with close reference to the Infant Mental Health Competencies Framework of the Association for Infant Mental Health (AIMH UK).

Link

How to apply

Contact course director for initial discussion and receive application pack. You can download the application form here link and email it to team@au-milieu.org

Cost

Cost – £4,800 per year

Registration Fee (payable on submission of application form) £80

Deposit (non-refundable), payable on acceptance to the course £500
(Deducted from first term’s fees)

Balance payable by monthly/termly instalments or as a lump sum £4,800 per year

How to apply

Contact course director for initial discussion and receive application pack. You can also apply here by downloading the application form and emailing it to team@au-milieu.org

Contact us

yvonne@au-milieu.org

www.au-milieu.org

07764 236676