OUR SERVICES
Telling someone how you feel can help you get the support you need
perinatal mental health supportAt Mothers for Mothers we offer services to support your emotional wellbeing during pregnancy, and early years parenting. It can be a great comfort to have someone available to talk to, who understands what you are going through. If you are experiencing anxiety, depression, loneliness, fear or isolation during or after pregnancy, or if you are a partner, family member or friend we look forward to hearing from you.
Reach helpline
We offer support to women and birthing people, their partners, family members and friends. Our aim is to encourage those experiencing anxiety, depression, distress, isolation during pregnancy or after the birth of their baby to easily REACH out to us for immediate support. We have many different ways in which we can REACH them. Friends, family and health care professionals may also use our service.
0117 9359366
Monday to Friday 10:00am to 9:00pm
5 DAY HELP LINE
The help line provides an opportunity to talk to someone who understands what you are going through. It can be a lifeline for women and birthing people suffering from PNI. It can help to ‘normalise’ the symptoms and their reassurance that ‘you will get better’ is validated by their own recovery. Our help line is often the first step for a mother in accessing other services provided by Mothers for Mothers or in their community. We can also sign post to other services when appropriate.
0117 9359366
Monday to Friday 10:00am to 9:00pm
REACH Support Calls and texts
Support calls offers women and birthing people a regular weekly support call or text. This is a confidential listening and planning service. We can help you to access the most appropriate services available to meet your current needs.
0117 9359366
Monday to Friday 10:00am to 9:00pm
Reach Online Support
ONLINE SUPPORT
Online support is provided via social media direct messaging, email and moderated discussion on our closed Facebook group.
support@mothersformothers.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/9694994201/
Twitter: @m4mbristol
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mothers_for_mothers/
SUPPORT GROUPS & ONE TO ONE SUPPORT
These groups are a safe place for you to come and talk about how you feel with others who understand, gain support and make social connections. We have a play worker and SEND support worker who engages children in play activities. Our groups can give you the opportunity to make supportive friendships and your children the opportunity to socialise.
If you are interested, please email us at groups@mothersformothers.co.uk or call the helpline 0117 9359366 or you are welcome to drop in.
Virtual antenatal and wellbeing in pregnancy support group
Every Tuesday evening Kate and Rebecca run an online group created specifically for pregnant women and birthing people who are experiencing anxiety, depression, low mood and/or isolation. It is a welcoming and relaxed group where you can access antenatal, birth and postnatal information and meet other women and birthing people facing similar experiences. The sessions have a strong focus on mental health and emotional wellbeing, with themes and discussion topics informed by the issues the group consider to be important and useful. We look at the helpful coping strategies available to women and birthing people during pregnancy and discuss ways to positively improve our responses to the ongoing demands of the perinatal period.
All of our sessions are underpinned by the principles laid down in the Guided Self-Help Workbook, ‘Wellbeing in Pregnancy’ created by Kings College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
If you are interested please email Rebecca Rice on homevisiting@mothersformothers.co.uk or call us on the helpline 0117 9359366
Zoom Antenatal support group takes place on Tuesdays at 7pm.
All of our sessions are underpinned by the principles laid down in the Guided Self-Help Workbook, ‘Wellbeing in Pregnancy’ created by Kings College London and the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust.
If you are interested please email Rebecca Rice on homevisiting@mothersformothers.co.uk or call us on the helpline 0117 9359366
Zoom Antenatal support group takes place on Tuesdays at 7pm.
GROUP TRIPS
We have four group events a year. Two trips to local family attractions and two parties. These events provide an opportunity to build your social circle outside the group you attend and give all the children a wonderful fun day. Being away from home with the safety of our support can help self-esteem and build confidence.
The women and birthing people attending the groups decide on the location, usually a local attraction such as Avon Valley Country Park, Bristol Zoo and We the Curious. Our trips take place during school holidays and of course we welcome older siblings to join in. Transport is also provided.
For more information email groups@mothersformothers.co.uk or call 0117 9359366
SEND
Our SEND Peer Support service is aimed at women and birthing people who have children with additional needs (diagnosed or not) or themselves are Neurodivergent. Our SEND Peer Support worker can offer you a listening ear, practical advice or emotional support because she’s been on a similar journey and has navigated the SEND system personally and professionally.
By chatting to a parent who ‘gets it’ can decrease your ‘mental load’ by allowing you a safe space to express those feelings associated with being a parent of a SEND child.
By knowing you’re not on your own and there’s support which allows you to belong and be included because there are people who think and feel like you do, can increase your resilience when trying to access and fight for support.
Through accessing SEND Peer support, your confidence and skills in parenting a child with additional needs can grow and develop and you can progress to accessing other SEND services such as local Autism support groups or other SEND friendly activities.
HOME VISITING
Our Home Visiting Service is aimed at women and birthing people who do not feel ready to attend a group or access counselling but feel the need for face-to-face support. Our Home Visitors can offer you listening and planning visits and work with you to decide what will be most helpful for your individual circumstances. This service can help increase emotional wellbeing and resilience and have a positive effect for the whole family. We will help you to increase your confidence and progress to accessing other services such as our support groups or other activities in your own communities.
ART PSYCHOTHERAPY & COUNSELLING
How we may be coping…
Having a baby, whether it’s the first or the fifth, fundamentally changes our lives; our sense of identity, bodies, relationships and lifestyle. This process of change and finding a new normal, is full of wonderful and challenging moments. For some however, this conflict and change, alongside perhaps life stresses or distressing experiences can pose barriers to adjusting and tolerating difficult feelings such as anxiety, loss and isolation etc.
Why we may wish to think about accessing therapy…
If you feel that your mental health is impacting on your enjoyment of relationships, bonding with your baby/children, personality, and everyday activities or interests, you may wish to seek some support. Speaking with a psychotherapist or counsellor in a safe, non-judgemental environment can enable us to develop clearer understanding of and abilities to cope with difficult feelings. Many families have benefitted and made meaningful changes in their lives as a result of using the therapeutic services at Mothers for Mothers.
What’s on offer:
All of our therapies are:
- Person-centred – we believe that the client’s experiences & needs are individual to them. The therapy relationship is based on honesty, respect, compassion and equality.
- Low-cost – clients are asked to donate a weekly amount affordable for them.
- Short-term – we offer a minimum of six sessions with the potential to extend.
- One to one – the client and therapist can meet either face-to-face or via zoom
- Confidential
ART PSYCHOTHERAPY
Art Psychotherapy is a talking therapy in which the art making is used as a key tool for expressing and making sense of feelings. It can help support clients to take ownership of their experiences and change in their view of current challenges they may face. The art psychotherapists offer clients non-judgemental and compassionate support through the process. Some clients can feel nervous about using the art materials, perhaps because they aren’t familiar with them or fear that they are not good enough, however many find that they build in confidence and enjoyment using the materials and some continue using these new skills after the therapy has ended.
COUNSELLING
Counselling is a talking therapy that involves a counsellor listening to and supporting a client whilst helping them find ways to deal with personal issues. Clients are encouraged to talk about their thoughts and feelings with the counsellor, who will listen and support without judgement or criticism. Talking to a counsellor can help you gain a better understanding of your feelings and thought processes and help you find solutions to your problems.
Parent and infant Art Therapy Group
The aim of these short-term groups is to provide a safe space for parents to explore and express their feelings about their experiences and relationship with their infant. This is supported by encouraging parents to use creative tools in a way that allows them to build confidence, self-worth and notice their strengths. The art can also open up opportunities for warm and playful connections between parent and infant and can help to reduce anxieties and doubts about this relationship.
The group roams across Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire and is typically held in local children’s centres or family hubs.
For more information email support@mothersformothers.co.uk or call 0117 9359366
How to get in touch
If you are interested in accessing our home visiting or therapy service, the steps would be to:-
- Contact our client care team on the helpline 01179359366, they can support you in getting registered with the service and/or completing a referral.
- All referrals go through our bi-weekly triage meeting, where we will consider which service might be best placed to meet your needs at this time
- Following this, you can expect to hear from one of the coordinators, to offer you an assessment and place you on the waiting list.