Lectures cost £30 each and will take place at the following times:

*To enable access to the widest possible audience these lectures are planned to be delivered live, but remotely, as webinars. Where we are able, a recording will be made available to all booked delegates although we encourage live attendance wherever possible.

These lectures will be delivered remotely using Zoom. You will need a device with a suitably fast internet connection. Although mobile devices and tablets can be used, we recommend the use of laptop or desktop PC for the best experience. Some devices provided by employers may have restrictions in place. Please use this test link (https://zoom.us/test) to check your set up before booking.

You will be sent the necessary login link about a week before the lecture date. Should you have any concerns about the accessibility of remote delivery please contact us at CPDEvents@tavi-port.ac.uk to discuss how we can best help you.

21 May

The perinatal period: a precious but precarious time (conception to toddlerhood)

Lecturer: Amanda Jones

Synopsis: The lecture will set the scene by describing why the perinatal period is a precious but precarious time for babies, parents and the wider group involved with a baby. It will introduce how a parent’s unconscious self-protective defensive processes can help or hinder the developing relationship with their baby.

This lecture will be recorded.

18 June

The perinatal frame of mind

Lecturer: Liz McDonald

Synopsis: This talk will highlight and explore the many, and often complex, past and current personal experiences women and their partners need to manage while they transition to parenthood. The presentation serves as an introduction to the world of perinatal mental health and hopes to stimulate curiosity and assist listeners in their thinking about how to guide and develop their own training and education in this area.

This lecture will be recorded.

16 July

Lecturer: Phil Arthington

Supporting couples in the perinatal period

Synopsis: The important influence of intimate relationships on the mental health of new mothers is widely recognised by practitioners working with families in the perinatal period. This lecture emphasises the importance of recognising relationship stress and working to support a positive couple relationship. This can benefit the wellbeing of both the partner and mother, as well as produce a positive emotional environment which can help give the infant the best possible start in life.

This lecture will be recorded.

15 October

Lecturer: Abel Fagin

Working with fathers during the perinatal period

Synopsis: This lecture will explore the psychological, neurobiological, and social changes that fathers undergo during the perinatal period. It will emphasise the importance of fathers in child development, exploring their roles and struggles, such as their potential anxieties and their identity challenges as providers and caregivers. The lecture will touch upon areas of engagement, assessment and intervention in therapeutic work.

This lecture will be recorded.

19 November

Lecturer: Coretta Ogbuagu

Reflections on colourism and the impact of systemic racism on infant and perinatal mental health: a case study

Synopsis: This lecture will be in two parts: Part one: a brief review of the experiences of maternity care in the UK for women and birthing people of colour. Part two: a clinical paper of a case study of a Black parent and their child who were in parent-infant psychotherapy treatment. The suggestion is that the wider system around the family had significant bearing on how the dyad related to one another. Examination of the dyad’s relationship to the therapist (also working as part of an institution) will also be considered.

There will be some video material shown with permission from the patient.

This lecture will be recorded.

17 December

Lecturers: Jo Goldsmith & Jane Lowe

How loss and trauma impact the early infant-parent relationship

Synopsis: This lecture will explore how the impact of loss and past traumatic events may impact on the development of the relationship between an unborn baby and their parents. This will be explored using the experience of working with families in the community and on neonatal units for sick and premature babies. This lecture draws on psychoanalytic theory and child development research.

This lecture will be recorded.

21 January 2025

Lecturers: Jo Goldsmith & Jane Lowe

When birth is different

Synopsis: This lecture will explore how the experiences of a traumatic birth and subsequent hospitalisation of a premature or poorly baby may affect the relationship between a baby and their parents. This will be explored antenatally and postnatally using the experience of working in the community and on neonatal units for sick and premature babies and their families drawing on psychoanalytic theory and child development research.

This lecture will be recorded.

18 February 2025

Lecturer: Biddy Youell

What about the baby? The baby’s emotional needs and the value of infant observation in perinatal services

Synopsis: Babies are all different and respond differently to the care they receive. but all babies need to be welcomed into the world by attentive and responsive adults. This talk looks at the value of infant observation training but highlights the idea that attending to the baby is part of the ‘perinatal state of mind’ and is everyone’s responsibility.  

This lecture will be recorded.

18 March 2025

Lecturer: Alexandra DeRementeria

Crying and soothing

Synopsis: Why do babies cry? In the beginning it is a biologically driven response to hunger, cold, digestive discomfort or awareness of separation from an attachment figure. These can be thought of as early anxieties as they all relate to survival. Once early anxieties are stirred it is not always enough to remove the original trigger. Infants are ill-equipped to manage the powerful feelings of anxiety that grip them and must express them through their red-faced, back-arched full-body screaming. If a carer can keep from being overwhelmed themselves by this, they can begin to reason and to think about what the baby might need: holding? A feed? The baby has an experience that their feelings have been made tolerable by the fact of tolerating them. The infant is no longer in the grip of debilitating anxiety. The crying stops and the baby can continue with development.

This lecture will be recorded.