Being a parent can be hard. There are many reasons why developing moments of connection with your baby might not come as easily as you first thought, including your own experiences as a child, your current situation, or previous traumatic events.
When things feel difficult, our team can offer a safe and supportive, therapeutic space.
We support:
Our sessions aim to support healthy relationships between parents/caregivers and their babies. In many of our sessions, we’ll sit on the floor together with your baby to observe and share thoughts about what they might be experiencing.
Some of the ways we can support you include:
These sessions can be helpful even if this is not your first child.
This is a local service for people living in Kent. In addition you'll need to be:
We support anyone who identifies as a primary caregiver, regardless of background of how your family has come together.
An interpretation service can be made available to remove communication barriers.
Areas we serve:
If you’ve been referred to us, we’ll get back to the healthcare professional who made your referral with details of whether we can help. If our service is right for you, we’ll then book an appointment so we can talk further.
If we feel another service could better meet your needs, we'll signpost this to you or your referer.
If you haven’t been referred yet, but you’re worried about your relationship with your baby, please speak to your midwife, health visitor, GP or other healthcare professional.
They can talk through your options and help you get in touch with us if we’re the right fit for your family.
Once a professional refers you to us, we'll respond to inform whether PAIRS is the best service to meet your needs. Before offering an appointment we'll make contact with you. Usually this will be by telephone and we'll get to know more about your hopes for the service and your availability.
Your first appointment will take the form of a conversation where we observe and listen to understand what you and your infant are experiencing. We will agree on a support plan together, and give you access to some helpful online resources straight away.
We will match you with the right specialist from our team. Depending on what will help you the most, this might involve one-to-one sessions, or joining a supportive group of other parents experiencing similar things.
Wherever possible, we advise in-person sessions, but online support can be offered in extraordinary circumstances. When we meet, we use welcoming, local, private rooms.
We know that daytime appointments aren't always possible when you are juggling family life, especially if you are back at work. To make things easier, we aim to offer flexible appointment times, with evening or Saturday appointments potentially available.
Referrals can be made by health professionals including:
Typically sessions would take place with your baby (even if they are sleeping during this time).
Mental health diagnosis is not a criteria for referral so no pre-diagnosis is required.
Our team will carefully consider alternative support options and may signpost you to other local resources or services. We will clearly communicate our recommendations in a formal letter sent to you, the professional who referred you, and your GP. To aid a smooth transition, we can also facilitate a direct discussion with the alternative service, provided you give us your consent to do so.
As we come to the end of our work together, we want to make sure you feel confident and supported as you move forward. We know that finishing a support programme can sometimes feel like a big step, so we have a clear process to celebrate any progress and ensure you have what you need for the future.
You will receive a formal therapeutic ending letter, ongoing access to resources and your clinician will work with you to write a collaborative closing statement, which documents any of the key things that helped you, so that you have a record for the future.
Partners or supportive others are very welcome for your first appointment. If your partner feels like they would like to participate beyond this, they may want to consider being referred to the service in their own right.
PAIRS is a service commissioned by Kent County Council and delivered by Real Group Ltd.
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