Post-birth Sessions

Weekly Sessions | Mothers' Program| Family-making Sessions | Fathers' Program

Weekly Sessions: Post-birth sessions for mothers (with babes in arms)

baby Caring for a new baby places unimagined demands on your time, energy and resources. Develop a network of support for your entry into motherhood. Explore underlying feelings and issues which affect our sense of self as contemporary mothers, while also learning strategies for practical adjustments.

Weekly sessions for new mothers.

Post-birth sessions
(mothers with babes in arms)
Time: Wednesdays ongoing 10.30am – 12.15pm during school term
No bookings required. Occasionally sessions are cancelled due to birth attendance.
Cost: $85 for 5 sessions or $20 casual
Location: Fertile Ground Health Group, Suite 2, Level 6, Albert St Medical Centre, 372-376 Albert St, East Melbourne

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Mothers' Program

For Mothers of older babies and children. Space for women to discuss their life as mothers. Consider the journey beyond the new-born and discuss issues as the affect you now as a mother, partner and woman. Rediscover your identity as you emerge from the intensity of new-born mothering. Feel supported by a group with the opportunity to explore concerns and joys.

Time: First Tuesday of each month, 7.30 - 9.30pm
Cost: $85 for 5 sessions or $20 casual
Location: Fertile Ground Health Group, Suite 2, Level 6, Albert St Medical Centre, 372-376 Albert St, East Melbourne

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Family-making Sessions

family A 4-week course for parents and prospective parents. These parenting sessions support the work of becoming the parent you aspire to be. Explore conscious parenting. Consider relationship dynamics, challenges and changes. Learn aspects of childhood development that influence appropriate parenting responses and increase confidence in your parenting style.

Course content
Week 1 - Couple relationship development
Week 2 - Relationship dynamics
Week 3 - Parenting styles
Week 4 - Child development

Time: Visit the calendar for upcoming dates
Cost: $200 per couple or $120 per individual (per 4-week course)
Location: Fertile Ground Health Group, Suite 2, Level 6, Albert St Medical Centre, 372-376 Albert St, East Melbourne

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Fathers' Program

"Fathering - the first three years"
A one-day workshop to encourage fathers/fathers-to-be to fulfil their aspirations as fathers, partners and individuals.

Tim is the father of Ned. He works at Relationships Australia and in private practice with couples and men ranging from Vietnam Veterans to new fathers. Tim is the author of Respect, Protect, Connect, a manual for work with young men in schools.

Recent Research shows that when fathers are positively involved with their children there are positive educational, mental health and relationship outcomes for these children.
Many fathers are unaware of the significance of the first three years of a baby's life and as such miss an amazing opportunity that will not repeat itself. While it is never too late to connect with one's children, there is no other time in a child's life when such momentous neurological and personality development occurs.
Instead of seeing Fatherhood as a separate role, the workshop identifies the interconnectedness of three major roles: Partner - Parent - Provider. Participants are also assisted to anticipate the challenges that arise out of addressing their own needs in relation to these major roles.
If the needs of the Self are neglected then the parenting-providing-and-partnering suffer, and visa versa. Any limits to us in our fathering certainly don't come from our children, but from either within us or life's challenges. Our actions and response-abilities as Partner - Parent - Provider are the making or frustrating of our lives.

About the Presenter: Timothy O'Leary (BSW) works in private practice and at Relationships Australia. He runs workshops and groups for fathers and has a wealth of experience as a couples and trauma therapist. He is the father of two children. Numbers are limited. Booking is essential. More information please call: Timothy O'Leary: 0425 78 68 77 or Email: toleary@fastmail.fm

The Workshop covers:

The significance of secure attachment and play for the development of the language and relating skills, personality development, as well as mastering balance and co-ordination - and of course for having fun!
The impact of early bonding in later educational attainment
Positive approaches to parenting from infancy through to the toddler years
Finding your keys to managing the work-life balance and personal wellbeing
How the partner -parent-provider roles are either generative or degenerative
It is also an opportunity to share your experiences and ideas with other dads and dads to be.

Dads and development
In the first three years of your child's life there are momentous developments occurring. Neurologically the brain growth spurt begins in the last trimester of pregnancy and continues to about 18 to 24 months of age.

It is a time when the neurological pathways of relating and being are laid down. Your baby's attachment experiences are also being concretised during this period. The infant needs a safe, secure and nourishing environment in order to thrive.
While the exciting developmental milestones of crawling, walking and talking are an exciting feature of the early years, there are some other dramatic changes occurring. At an experiential level, the baby is shifting from being a predominantly sensory being, without language, and relying largely on crying for its means of communication, toward the walking talking toddler.

This is a major window of opportunity for parents to positively the psychological wellbeing of their child, for it is in this time, that the child increases their capacity to regulate themselves as a result of neurological-physiological development.
Basically this means that the foundations for your child's emotional and psychological resources are being 'constructed' at this time and the more we can help them to build a solid base, then everything that is later constructed upon this base (for example more complex social and thinking abilities) will be securely anchored.

Through the use of MRI studies, it is scientifically known that infants rely upon the use of their right brain, as the left brain (language and cognition) develops during toddlerhood. Therefore if we are to meet the infant where they are at, then parents must attune themselves to the right-brain way of life. Essentially this involves slowing down, thinking less and being more present (in the moment) and play-orientated.

It is when adults are present with children that kids feel special and it is through play that children express their creativity, develop social skills and refine gross motor skills and hand-eye co-ordination. It's fun too and since research consistently find that parents biggest worry is for their children to be happy, play is the best way to orientate your child to a lifetime of intrinsic enjoyment. Play activities also tend to get kids active and are thus protective against later tendancies to being glued to the TV/Xbox.

Furthermore research into fatherhood over a forty - year period in England by Buchanan & Flouri (2001) showed that positively involved fathers led to the following outcomes for children:

1. Educational attainment
2. Less tumultuous adolescence
3. Later satisfactory partnerships in adult life
4. Better mental health
5. Father who bonded with babies stayed involved for life

For info on Father's groups and workshops call Tim O'Leary on 0425 78 68 77 or email toleary@fastmail.fm

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