During the past ten years, clinicians at Eastern Health have been conducting Parent and Infant Relationship Support (PAIRS) therapy groups for mothers and babies in need. Their work has been published in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy.

The PAIRS groups offer a lifeline to mothers and babies after premature and traumatic births. Support is extended to mothers who suffer from symptoms such as anxiety and depression, and in situations where the mother-baby relationship is under stress. The PAIRS program aims to improve mother-child interaction, to decrease maternal depression and to positively affect infant development.

Dr Sophia Constantinides coordinates the program and is proud of the positive outcomes she has seen in her ten years of involvement.

"Mothers who participate in the program can identify with other mums in the group, helping them to feel supported and less isolated in their motherhood journeys. Importantly, the program fosters positive connections between mothers and babies," said Dr Constantinides.

"We encourage participants to express their feelings and to share their stories through talking, writing, and by using art and creative expression. We also get to know the babies in the group, and help them to reach out to their mothers and to be better understood," she said.

PAIRS is a collaborative initiative between Eastern Health and community partners, including Maroondah, Whitehorse and Knox Maternal and Child Health nurses, Anglicare and Connections. Eastern Health clinicians Dr Sophia Constantinides and Anne Cumming have collaborated with psychologist Dr Jan Smith in documenting the success of PAIRS Groups in Victoria over ten years.

A commentary article in the Journal by Karen Lombardi, a psychologist, psychoanalyst and Professor at the Derner Institute for Advance Psychological Studies in the USA, affirms the PAIRS intervention:

"It was a privilege to read the impressive work of Parent and Infant Relationship Support (PAIRS). The aims of the program are laudable. The results of their programmatic interventions are impressive."

The paper is called "A Decade of Parent & Infant Relationship Support Group Therapy Programs" by Smith, Cumming & Xeros-Constantinides. It appears in the International Journal of Group Psychotherapy, Volume 60, Number 1, 2010, pages 59-89. The commentary article by Karen Lombardi, entitled "Holding", appears in the same publication on pages 141-150.

Media information: Ashlea Milner, Eastern Health Communications & Community Relations, ph 03 9895 4879