Supporting children of parents with a mental illness: a systemic approach (DAA021)
Deepen your understanding of the impact of parental mental illness on children’s development and learn strategies for building their resilience
Did you know that one in three children has a parent with poor mental health (UK Household Longitudinal Study, 2020) and that these children are much more likely to develop a mental illness themselves?
This interactive online course – newly refreshed with updated content, improved accessibility and enhanced learning resources – has been created in partnership with Our Time Charity, the UK’s only charity supporting children of parents with a mental illness.
Over six hours of learning, this training will support you to explore the impact of parental mental illness on children’s cognitive, social and emotional development, and the importance of fostering resilience to help them thrive despite adversity.
Drawing on whole-family and systemic approaches, as well as lived experience testimonies, you will consider a range of strategies and complete the course with enhanced confidence and a practical toolkit to support children and young people affected by parental mental illness.
This course will be particularly useful for professionals and teams across health, social care, education and voluntary services given the landmark amendment to the Mental Health Bill in 2026, which – for the first time – recognises children of parents with a mental illness and explicitly obliges mental health professionals to identify and support these vulnerable children.
Aims and learning objectives
On successful completion of this course, you will be able to:
- examine the short- and long-term impacts of having a parent with a mental illness, including attachment patterns, cognitive and emotional development
- explore ways of helping children develop resilience through a biopsychosocial lens, including key principles of systemic practice and Multi-Family Therapy (MFT), using case studies from the KidsTime intervention and i-THRIVE programme
- recognise and appreciate the environmental, societal and cultural barriers to accessing support that this group face and identify strategies to overcome them
- consider how the principles of an integrated, whole-family approach can be applied to promote engagement, facilitate shared decision making and empower children, young people and their families to be actively involved in decisions about their care
- critically reflect upon your professional practice and implement strategies to foster resilience and enable children and young people to thrive.
Who will I learn from?
We have developed this course in partnership with Our Time Charity who support children who have a parent with mental illness. You’ll learn from a range of professionals with expertise in parental mental illness and hear personal stories from those with lived experience.
We have also collaborated with i-THRIVE, a national programme of innovation and improvement in child and adolescent mental health that is being implemented in sites across England. You’ll hear from a school that benefited from i-THRIVE interventions and professionals involved in the national training programme.
Who is this course for?
This course is suitable for individuals, teams and organisations and we welcome anyone who has a keen interest in the subject area. In particular, this course is for you if you are working with children, young people and families who are affected by parental mental illness. This includes a wide range of roles, such as adult, family or child psychologists, GPs, nurses, social workers, educators and youth workers. It’s also suitable for practitioners working with Best Start Family Hubs or Healthy Babies services.
Course details
This online course runs continuously, meaning that you can sign up at any time. It offers six hours of self-directed learning which you can undertake at a time, pace and location that suits you.
You will have access to the course and its materials for one year. Access begins the next working day after you’ve booked, when you will receive your account details by email.
There are four units within this course, each building on the other to provide comprehensive and practical guidance on supporting children and families experiencing parental mental illness.
The four learning units are:
- The context and impact of parental mental illness
- Systemic practice and Multi-Family Therapy
- Safeguarding and risk support
- Integrating whole system thinking and support strategies
You’ll explore a wide range of topics and hear from young people with lived experience of parental mental illness about the challenges they faced during childhood and what helped. These topics include:
- attachment theory
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)
- the biopsychosocial model
- principles of systemic practice
- Multi-Family Therapy
- stigma
- culture and mental illness
- risk and protective factors for children of parents with a mental illness.
You’ll learn through a mix of:
- clear and practical learning objectives
- knowledge check questions and self-reflection prompts
- over 30 short video and audio clips
- a range of images, diagrams, charts and infographics
- engaging interactive activities and downloadable worksheets
- real-life case studies and lived experience testimonials
- key takeaways and handy unit summaries.
There are no specific requirements for the course and there’s no assumption you’ll have prior knowledge in mental health. This course provides a clear and accessible introduction to the subject.
At the end of the course, you will find a multiple-choice question assessment to check your own knowledge and understanding. A certificate, listing the number of learning hours undertaken, is downloadable on completion of the course.
Training for organisations
Looking to enhance the skills of your team or workforce and create long-lasting impact?
We can offer discounts for group bookings, as well as packages tailored to your specific workforce requirements, including:
- an initial consultation to help identify your team’s training needs and knowledge gaps
- a flexible, bespoke training programme combining this self-study course with live elements such as reflective sessions or follow-up workshops for deeper learning
For more information on how we can support your organisation, please contact us.
Testimonials
Why study with us?
Tavistock Education and Training offers a wide range of life-changing CPD and postgraduate courses, drawing on over a century of work at the forefront of mental health and wellbeing. As part of North London NHS Foundation Trust, we ground your learning in the latest clinical practice and research, with each course developed by our expert clinician-tutors, in the only NHS Trust registered with the Office for Students. We have made our training accessible and available to everyone to explore in your own time, at your own pace.
Course facilitators
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Dympna Cunnane, Our Time Charity
Chief Executive Officer
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Jade Cormack
Educational Consultant
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Shona Grant
Senior Lecturer
Book your place today
This course runs continuously. You can book a place at any time using our MyTAP booking system. Access begins the next working day after you’ve booked, when you will receive login details by email.
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