Our mental health is shaped by our earliest relationships in the first year of life.
Because of this, we believe building early relationships should not depend on ‘expert’ knowledge.
Instead, we believe supporting healthy human development is something we can all do.
Get involved and be a part of our work:
Train with us!
Our cue-based infant massage courses certify you to teach the First Touch Program to support social and emotional connections between parents and babies. Once completing this infant massage course, you’ll be qualified to provide evidence-based programs in cue-based infant massage. and to support these early foundations infant mental health development.
This is the only nationally accredited and industry-endorsed infant massage training available in Australia.
Support our work:
Our work is based on one simple fact:
Many significant risk factors for human suffering, illness and pain are preventable if we begin early enough. In infancy.
But we can’t do it alone.
Find a Certified Educator in your area!
Infant massage courses and baby massage classes for parents and health services
Find Infant Massage Educators who have completed nationally accredited, evidence-based infant massage training. All educators are also certified to deliver the First Touch Program.
Educators offer community-based and public infant massage courses and private groups (e.g. for mothers groups). Many offer contract sessions for health and community services as well.
Blog
About three years ago, here are Baby in Mind, we were involved in a research project conducted by Angela Freeman, from University of Canberra. Working at the Canberra-based perinatal depression…
A report released by the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has recognised and included cue-based Infant Massage as an intervention that may potentially help promote some factors…
The Body Keeps The Score (Bessel van der Kolk) The Body Keeps the Score will surely be considered a classic among the texts on human trauma, and human nature more generally. Although…
Newsletters
Subscribe for FREE to our magazines (we deliver them via website or mobile app – leaving your email in-box clear!)
The Hippo is our magazine of professional development, training and education opportunities. It is specially for people working with parents and babies.
Keeping the Baby in Mind is our official magazine. Check all the latest infant mental health news and trending topics, whenever you need.
Parent Support Matters is our magazine for medical, health, welfare and early childhood professionals working in parent education. Topics include industry updates, sector news, private practice and business resources, and self-care.
*From ARACY/ Australian Association of Infant Mental Health –
Based on data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, around 320,000 children start school each year. However, an estimated 20% of all these children show signs of mental health vulnerability. In other words, around 64,000 kindy kids have signs of difficulties, delays, challenges or risk in relation to their mental health. Mental illness costs the Australian community around $190billion each year. But half this mental illness is thought to be preventable in childhood…and particularly if we start during infancy. Therefore, prevention of mental illness is both possible and important for us all.
There are two very effective ways to prevent mental illness and other mental health issues. The first is to support social-emotional development during infancy (before pre-school) because these developmental processes also wire the brain for mental health. The second is to support the development of parent-baby relationships and, particularly, nurturing parenting relationships. Our First Touch Program works on both of these fronts.
