Mellow Parenting, and Mellow Babies, is available for families with young children in the Southern Trust area.
Mellow Parenting is a 14 week programme designed to support families who are experiencing relationship problems with their young children and have additional health and social care needs. Children should be aged between 1 and 4 years.
Mellow Parenting is based on principles from attachment theory, adult education and behavioural psychology. It combines support for parents with direct video feedback on the parents own interactions with their children, a method which has been shown to be extremely effective in helping parents to make changes.
Mellow Babies is a specialised version of Mellow Parenting but has been developed for parents and vulnerable babies under 1 year. The programme addresses both adult mental health including post natal depression and child protection issues.
When participating in either programme parents attend one full day each week, from 10am until 2pm. The child can be cared for in a children’s group or crèche.
Mellow Parenting programmes are being delivered by trained health and social care professionals across the Southern area.
Criteria for Referral
Participants should fall into one or more categories:
- A child/children on or at risk of being placed on the Child Protection Register
- A history of domestic violence within the family
- The main carer has ongoing difficulties in their relationship with the child/children
- (a) A child of between 1 and 4 years has behavioural or emotional problems of at least 3 months, or (b) A child of under 1 year has behavioural or emotional problems of at least 1 month
- There is a history of mental health problems, including substance misuse which impacts on parenting capacity.
Contact details
For further information, contact Maureen McSorley on 028 3741 2763 or Deirdre McParland on 028 3741 2884 or email mellowparenting@southerntrust.hscni.net