Talking Therapies

One to One Parent Infant Psychotherapy and Counselling sessions

DorPIP Parent Infant Psychotherapy and Counselling sessions are a confidential, safe space where a qualified therapist will work with you in a gentle and sensitive way, guiding you through any difficult feelings and emotions you may be experiencing. Our work is always accepting of you and your individual circumstances.  

Our talking therapies are delivered online and in person

Parent Infant Psychotherapy

Parent-Infant Psychotherapy is a specialised form of therapy centered on nurturing the bond between a parent and the infant. The main goal is to strengthen the relationship to support healthy development in your little one.

Our Parent-Infant Psychotherapists will work work with you to explore both conscious and unconscious factors within your relationship with your baby. Often these factors are influenced by our own experience of childhood and how we were parented. Depending on this experience, we may wish to replicate those good experiences. However, we may feel that we want our baby to have something different, or better. By understanding how these factors influence the unique ways in which you and your little one interact, you will be able to begin strengthening and growing that vital bond.

Having a space, just for you and your baby, where you can express your frustrations, sadness, anxiety, anger - or whatever it is that's affecting your happiness - can feel like a pressure valve. A release.  

“My relationship with my baby was balanced but I lacked the confidence that I am doing a good job. Now I am confident that I am a good enough parent. I have learnt how to give her a voice, putting myself in her shoes. I now can take a step back, have a moment, and take a deep breath without worrying I’m a bad mum. I also have the knowledge to tap into other resources to support me and my child.”

“The sessions with DorPIP literally saved me. I was in a very dark place and wanted to run away from my life and my new-born baby. I am now literally a different person. I now understand all the trauma I went through and how this impacted my relationship with my baby. Once my counsellor helped me process what had happened I was able to start letting go and focussing on the future and the 'now'. They were outstanding and this service literally helped me find my identity again. I will be forever grateful. Thank you.”

Counselling

Counselling is a type of therapy provided in a safe and supportive environment for you to explore and address various challenges you may be facing. Whether dealing with mental health conditions like depression or anxiety, navigating difficult life events such as bereavement or relationship issues, or grappling with emotions like low self-esteem or anger, counselling offers a space to talk openly with a trained therapist.

Through compassionate listening and understanding, a counsellors will help you gain insight into your feelings and thoughts, empowering you to find your own solutions. While counsellors do not typically offer direct advice, they can guide you towards self-discovery and progress. It may take multiple sessions to see improvement, but with professional support, you can gradually experience relief and growth.

Our sessions provide a place where you can be listened to, understood and cared for. 

Over 8 or more weekly one-to-one sessions, one of our experienced parent-infant relationship specialists or counsellors will work individually with you and your baby. Your partner is welcome to come along too.  

Magic happens in the therapy room, as new relationships begin to form and flourish, and working together we can make a difference that will last a lifetime for your baby and you.  

Sessions may include or cover topics such as

  • Primitive anxiety  

  • Emotional connection  

  • Emotional safety  

  • Supportive space  

  • Early relationships  

  • Recalling your own experiences  

  • Expectations  

  • The gaps and the gains  

  • Self-discovery as a parent  

  • Making sense of your experience  

  • The healing process  

  • The early days    

How you can get Talking Therapy Support

The first step is to complete the self-referral form,

After this, Our team member Summer will contact you via phone or email to arrange an informal chat. The chat will take about 20 minutes, during which time we'll invite you to tell us more about what's going on for you at the moment. Summer will also tell you more about how we can help. 

After this, if you feel we are a good fit for your needs and Summer feels we can help you, we will email you some forms to complete.

Any information we receive will remain strictly confidential, and we'll never pass it on. 

Then we'll match you with someone from our team of Psychotherapists/Therapists who will arrange your appointment.

After benefiting from our services families often feel like they want to give back. If this is you, thank you, we appreciate your support.

Make a Donation
If you're able, consider making a donation to our Local Giving Page. Donations help us run our services.

Write a Google Review: Your review of your experience with DorPIP could encourage others to reach out for support, and benefit from our services as well.

Volunteering: Volunteer a little of your time to help with small tasks or projects. For instance, you could help spread the word about the DorPIP’s services on social media.

Spread the Word: Simply telling your friends, family, and colleagues about DorPIP the organization and the positive impact it has had on your life can go a long way.

 Talking Therapy FAQs

  • Our sessions are online or in person and last for 50 minutes.  Families generally have between 6-8 sessions. Once you have completed a course of therapy you may request further support right up to when your baby is age 2. Lisa our clinical lead can help you with any questions or queries you may have. 

  • We want to help your family to flourish and payment for services need not be a barrier as we can offer you free sessions if you meet certain criteria. To see if we can do this, you’ll be asked to complete a Request for DorPIP services form which will assess if you can access our other services for free as well. 

    You may not find all the questions are relevant to the service you’ve requested however please complete the form as fully as possible as this will give us a good overview of what is currently going on for you and your family.  

    As we are an independent local charity, we rely on grants and donations to keep our service going. A paid for therapeutic session would costs £55 per session, and we know that this amount is not affordable to everyone. If you would like to take up our service, a sessional fee will then be agreed based on your means and genuine ability to pay with your therapist.

  • The sessions take place online using the Microsoft Teams app. However, your counsellor may be able to offer face-to-face sessions at an agreed location, at their discretion.

  • If you’re comfortable with your baby being there, then of course they are more than welcome.

  • If you would like your partner/baby’s other parent to attend the sessions we ask that they also complete their own form so we can see what your family is like from both perspectives. 

    We can also offer counselling sessions to both of you individually.  

  • It differs because, although it’s a type of family therapy, it specialises in the time period from conception to aged two – which is pre-verbal on the part of the child. In our therapy, we act as the bridge between infant and parent – putting ourselves in the position of viewing the parents as the infant might – meaning that we can then act as the voice for the child.

  • We will be able to help you discover any unconscious emotional blocks or past trauma that may be affecting your feelings.

  • We don’t report ‘thoughts’ and realise that disturbing thoughts are very common. There’s also a big difference between thoughts and action. If you said something that was of real concern, we would work with you to ensure you had the best possible support and we are bound by local safeguarding regulations (Safeguarding Children’s Board)

  • Giving birth can often trigger intense memories from your own childhood. Perhaps you didn't have a good experience of being parented, or traumatic things happened? The realisation that your own experience of being parented was lacking can be a shock and affect the way you feel about how you'll be as a parent now. We can help you process these thoughts and emotions.

  • Yes, birth trauma is a type of PTSD and we can help you process this experience - which you were probably not in control of. We will do this in a sensitive way so as to not re-trigger the trauma, showing you techniques to help your brain understand that you are no longer in danger.

  • Yes, all of our councellors and parent-infant psychotherapists are fully qualifed and have three year’s post-qualifying experience and a specialism working with families. All of our therapists are registered with the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy.

  • We accept self-referrals via email. It’s a confidential service and emails are handled by an appropriately trained member of the team. After the initial email, We conduct a telephone assessment and then an appointment can be arranged with a therapist.  We also take referrals from health professionals such as health visitors, midwives, GPs and other psychotherapists as well as family outreach workers, social workers and speech therapists.

  • We aim to have no waiting lists – because babies can’t wait.