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Adult mental health learning pathway

Emerging Minds, Australia, March 2023

Related to Mental health care, Parental mental illness, Parenting, Parenting with anxiety, Parenting with mental health difficulties, Physical health, When your parent has a mental illness

Resource Summary

Every parent has skills and strengths they draw on to help them in their role. But when a parent is experiencing mental health difficulties, it can be harder for them to access these skills, especially during times of stress. This can place a strain on the parenting role and their relationship with their child, which can in turn impact the child’s mental health and development.

This learning pathway is designed for practitioners working in adult services with parents, including birthing parents, where mental health difficulties, isolation, disadvantage and adversity continue to significantly impact upon them.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that the resources in this learning pathway may contain imagery, audio or names of people who have passed away.

Explore our online courses around adult mental health

Intergenerational mental health

Download printable summary

This course supports professionals to apply an ‘intergenerational lens’ to their work, to better understand histories of family disadvantage and positively influence parent–child relationships and children’s mental health.

Parental mental illness and child-aware practice

Download printable summary

This course acknowledges the resilience and values of parents with mental illness, while recognising that mental illness can place great stress on the family. Parental stress can affect a child’s ability to develop positive mental health; impact on the parent-child relationship; and disrupt the family’s daily routines, relationships and connections.

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