At iHV, we believe that there’s ‘no health without mental health’. Healthy parents and healthy parent-infant relationships are the foundation for good mental health across the life-course and, in turn, a healthy society.
Evidence suggests that Specialist Health Visitors in Perinatal and Infant Mental Health (Sp HV PIMH) have a unique role in addressing parent and infant mental health problems both strategically and clinically, and undertake leadership, supervisory and workforce development functions directly and across service boundaries to achieve these good foundations.
Our Sp HV PIMH SIG has been established since 2021 and has members from across all UK nations, enabling practitioners to network, share best practice and access support. The group benefits from a vibrant Listserv, a dedicated section on the iHV website, regular virtual meetings, and options to join subgroup special interest meetings to develop further thinking and action.
Feedback from current members reflects the value of the SIG:
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This group enables rich discussions about the differences and similarities in our roles, the importance of supervision, thinking about outcome measures, sharing best practice, formulating agreements and plans to take to commissioners. I feel really inspired when I attend and go away with lots of ideas.
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Thank you so much for facilitating this group. Taking on this complex role in isolation is a real challenge, especially in the current climate of staffing/caseload crisis. This group has given me the inspiration and drive to continue.
