Brief Perinatal Wellbeing Course

Background

We are currently developing a free, online ultra-brief treatment for women experiencing perinatal depression and anxiety.

The journey to motherhood can be a time of significant change and adjustment. Sometimes, symptoms of depression and anxiety are dismissed as normal responses to all of the change going on during the perinatal period – but we know that this is not always the case.

Accessing face-to-face mental health services can be difficult, and some people do not have the time or do not want to participate in longer treatment courses. This is why we have developed an ultra-brief online course… Research tells us that very short treatments can be effective for managing depression and anxiety symptoms.

We developed the Brief Perinatal Wellbeing Course to help women manage depression and anxiety symptoms during pregnancy and after giving birth. Our goal is to make this treatment as helpful as possible.

To learn more about symptoms of low mood and depression, please click here.

To learn more about anxiety and anxiety disorders, please click here.

Who is the course suitable for?

The course is suitable for:

Women aged 18 and older.
Experiencing symptoms of depression or anxiety.
In the perinatal period (pregnant to 1-year post-partum).
Who want to learn information and skills to manage anxiety and depression
Who have the time to read the online lesson and practice some of the skills over a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, we cannot include people who are currently suicidal, do not have access to the Internet, are unable to read or understand English, or who are not living in Australia.

What does the course involve?

The course involves:

1 online lesson that provides information and teaches practical skills
2 downloadable guides to help understand and practice those skills with examples from others
1 brief session (up to 30-min) with a clinician via email and telephone

The Course is delivered over one week and is designed to provide the same information and teach the same skills as one of our longer courses. However, it does this in a very brief way using one online lesson and one session with a clinician.

The online lesson takes about 1-hr to read, but changes person to person. The course aims to provide the information and skills that you would normally receive from a Clinical Psychologist.

What have we found so far?

We have now had over 40 people complete this course. Participants found the treatment helpful and said it was worth their time. We also found that many people noticed improvements in their depression and anxiety symptoms.

We are in the process of publishing the results from the first study.

What is the current trial or study looking at?

Every time we offer a course, we offer it as a part of a trial or study. This means that participants are helping us to answer an important research question while they participate in our courses.

The current trial is looking at how effective the course in reducing symptoms of perinatal depression and anxiety.

You can read more about the current trial by reading the Participant Information and Consent Form Statement.

When is the next course being offered?

Outside Australia?

We are hoping to offer the course internationally soon - so if you are outside of Australia and would like to participate, please register your interest.

In Australia?

We are pleased to be accepting applications for the Perinatal Single Session Course.

November 25th, 2024
January 20th, 2025

You will be randomly chosen to start in one of the two groups. To apply to participate, please click “Apply Now!” below and follow the prompts.

We plan to run new courses every month in 2025. If the dates for our next two groups are not suitable for you, please check this webpage again in a couple of weeks - we'll be updating the dates of available groups regularly.

Interested in this course?

Apply Now

(if you are in Australia)