Occupational Therapy in the Perinatal Community Mental Health Service
The Perinatal Community Mental Health Service offers you specialist support for your mental health during and after pregnancy.
The team is made up of Community Mental Health Nurses, Nursery Nurses, Occupational Therapists, a Consultant Psychiatrist, a Clinical Psychologist, a Perinatal Mental Health Midwife and more.
We support you if you already struggle with severe mental health issues or have during or soon after a previous pregnancy. We usually begin working with you from your second trimester of pregnancy, with the aim to promote your wellbeing throughout your pregnancy. We support you and your family to make a birth plan.
What is the role of Occupational Therapists in the Perinatal Community Mental Health Service?
If you need support from the Occupational Therapist in the team, we can support you to work towards goals that are set together.
We aim to:
- Promote your health and recovery during and after your pregnancy
- Work with you to prevent relapse
- Offer specialised assessment to find out what help you need
- Use a range of Occupational Therapy interventions to help you do what you need to do and explore meaningful activities
- Help you to develop a relationship with your infant and grow your community networks.
We can also offer support for up to one year after childbirth, if the problems started during pregnancy or within the first postnatal month.
Useful Links
- Urgent Help with your mental health
- NHS Choices: Postnatal Depression
- The UK Postpartum Psychosis Network: Action on Postpartum Psychosis
- Living Life to the Full … helping you to help yourself
- Moodjuice – a site designed to help you think about emotional problems and work towards solving them
- Centre for Clinical Interventions
- Cardiff Mind
- Stepiau
- Cardiff and Vale Recovery and Wellbeing College
Referrals
Referrals to the service come via midwives, obstetricians and Community Mental Health Teams. We are also happy to be contacted to discuss referrals from others, or may advise on alternative services.
If you have a referral open to a Community Mental Health Team, staff involved can also contact the Occupational Therapy staff to discuss assessment needs.
Contact
Perinatal Community Mental Health Service, Cardiff Royal Infirmary, Glossop Terrace, Cardiff, CF24 0SZ
02921 832161
