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Up to one third of adults who receive mental health services in Australia are parents. Psychologists in private practice are one of the largest groups within the Australian mental health workforce who support parents experiencing mental ill-health. Parents have specific support needs relating to their parenting role and "treatment as usual" may not address their integrated parenting and mental health concerns. The service experiences of parents in this setting have not been studied. This qualitative study addresses this knowledge gap through investigation of the experiences of Australian mothers who received support from a psychologist in private practice. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 mothers and interviews were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Three overarching themes were identified in relation to (i) participants' need to feel understood and heard as a parent, (ii) their need for a nonjudgmental therapeutic space and (iii) their desire for practical parental support from psychologists. These findings corroborate the value of family-focused practices when supporting parents with a mental health condition. The results include ways in which family-focused practices have been incorporated by clinicians in private practice settings which may have application in other mental health service contexts. What is already known about this topic: Psychologists in private practice make up a substantial group within the Australian mental health workforce who support parents with a mental health condition. Parents who receive mental health care in tertiary mental health settings report a lack of dedicated parenting support and resources. Family-focused practices are effective in supporting parenting and recovery for parents with a mental health condition who receive mental health care in tertiary mental health settings. What this paper adds: Psychologists who support parents in private practice should collaborate with their clients to identify which aspects of their parenting may be relevant to the therapeutic work and provide targeted support for parenting difficulties. Most participants expected that their psychologist would provide targeted support for parenting difficulties, and they felt disappointed when this did not occur. The lived experiences of parents with mental ill-health in private practice psychology services are highlighted, addressing a key knowledge gap in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article reports a strengths-based intervention to support parents with mental illness and their children in adult mental health settings: "Let's Talk About Children" (LTC) intervention. A qualitative methodology was adopted with parent participants receiving LTC in adult mental health and family services. The benefits for parents receiving LTC were described through in-depth interviews with 25 parents following the delivery of the program. Interview data identified an impact on parental self-regulation—mainly through a change in a sense of agency as a parent—and skill building, once a clearer picture of their child's everyday life was understood. This study outlines the benefits of talking with parents about the strengths and vulnerabilities of their children during routine mental health treatment. The role for self-determination of parents in preventive interventions for children is an important consideration for mental health recovery, and it also helps to break the cycle of transgenerational mental illness within families. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent mental health policy endorses a personal recovery framework that focuses on individual purpose and meaning. Therefore, psychology pre-registration training needs to promote knowledge and attitudes that are aligned with this framework.The 5 + 1 training pathway was recently established in Australia and emphasises readiness for practice. This study examined how provisional psychologists undertaking the 5 + 1 pathway perceived recovery. Semi-structured interviews were completed with nine provisional psychologists completing the coursework component of the 5 + 1 pathway. Interviews focused on perspectives of recovery and were analysed with thematic analysis. Three themes related to perspectives of (i) recovery as a process that involved building capacity to undertake key life roles, (ii) ways that psychologists can promote recovery through their stance and their practices and (iii) factors that have influenced participants' views of recovery. The findings indicate that provisional psychologists in the 5 + 1 pathway are able to develop appropriate but limited perspectives that are generally consistent with the personal recovery framework. Participants were more influenced by client contact than coursework. Learning about recovery could be enhanced by explicitly teaching models of recovery and incorporating views of people with lived experience. Key Points What is already known about this topic: Mental health clinicians' attitudes and perspectives of their work have an impact on the nature of the support they provide. Training plays an important role in developing psychologists' attitudes and perspectives towards recovery. The 5 + 1 internship is a recently established training pathway to registration as a psychologist. What this paper adds: This paper reports on one of few studies related to the Australian 5 + 1 training pathway for psychologists. Although unfamiliar with formal models of recovery, students' perspectives were mostly consistent with personal recovery but there were some indications of conceptual confusion. Recommendations are made for extending development of students' perspectives of recovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Adult mental health clinicians face a range of challenges that hinder their use of family‐focused practices when working with consumers who are parents. The purpose of this study was (a) to examine clinicians' experiences when working with parents and (b) identify strategies they found to be effective when working with parents. Eleven Australian mental health clinicians were recruited who regularly worked with consumers who are parents. Semistructured interviews were conducted within a qualitative paradigm and analysed using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Themes were identified which related to (a) managing sensitive parenting conversations, (b) making decisions about child safety in unclear or unpredictable situations, and (c) working with child protection services. Participants had developed strategies for managing the challenges of the first two practice issues and suggested organizational changes that could facilitate collaboration with child protection services. The findings highlight that the challenges of working with parents with mental health issues cannot be addressed with a one‐size‐fits‐all approach. Initiatives to facilitate the effective support of parents and their children need to be informed by contextual factors, including clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Given the prevalence of parental mental illness, accessible opportunities are needed to enhance clinicians' capacity for working with parents, in an early intervention framework. The Let's Talk about Children e-learning resource aims to provide clinicians with skills to empower parents to support their family. This pilot study examines clinicians' views regarding the acceptability of the resource and assesses its effectiveness in developing clinicians' attitude, skill, and knowledge when working with parents with a mental illness. Methods A sequential mixed-method design was employed. There were 21 mental health clinicians (primarily nurses, social workers, and psychologists) who completed the Family- Focused Workforce Questionnaire, pre- and post-training with the e-learning resource. All 21 participants were offered a post-training interview to discuss their experience of the resource, and 8 participants accepted. Results The e-learning resource was effective at enhancing participants' practices, such as assessing the impact of mental illness on parenting and child development, and providing information and resources to families. Participants recognised the importance of empowering parents, although noted that further organisational support was required to implement the intervention. Conclusions Preliminary results tentatively indicate that the e-learning resource may be an effective professional development tool for clinicians. Future research is required to ascertain its long-term impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]