Mini Minds Matter is an Infant Mental Health Team, consisting of:
- two clinical psychologists
- a mental health nurse
We work closely with colleagues in health, third sector and social work.
We aim to:
- promote emotional wellbeing for infants by supporting them and their important relationships with their parents and carers
- work together with families, and the services who support them, to understand how and when we can be helpful
How we help infants
An infant with good mental health and emotional wellbeing can:
- enjoy relationships
- communicate their thoughts and feelings
- explore their environment and learn
We know these three abilities are important for the infant’s quality of life now, as well as their mental health and wellbeing when they grow up. See UNICEF’s guidance on infant mental health for more information.
We work during pregnancy and up to an infant’s third birthday with infants and their families when there are persistent and ongoing difficulties that might mean:
- the infant has moderate to severe mental health difficulties
- there are moderate to severe difficulties in the relationship the infant has with their parent or caregiver
What we offer
We are here to offer support to professionals working in the helping team around an infant and their family. We do this by:
- offering training and awareness sessions on Infant Mental Health and early relationships
- providing an advice line for professionals to discuss potential referrals, signpost or offer guidance (if you want to discuss a specific family, please ensure you have obtained consent from them to do so before contacting the advice line)
- offering multiagency consultation to consider the needs of the infant with the helping team and any care plan indications
In the future we will offer direct support and intervention with a small number of families, but this is not currently available.
Accessing support, as a professional
All colleagues in health, social care and third sector can access the following.
To request training and awareness raising or to have a general discussion about infant mental health and early relationships, please contact the clinical mailbox (aa.infantmentalhealth@aapct.scot.nhs.uk) or phone:
- our general line: 01563 825407
- our advice line: 01563 825 680
The general line is manned by administrative staff part of the week, but at other times will go to voicemail. You can expect a response to voicemails within 5 working days.
To access the advice line, please phone at the following times:
- Mondays, 2pm to 3pm
- Tuesdays, 2pm to 3pm
- Thursdays, 10am to 11am
We currently accept referrals for multiagency professional consultation from the following professionals:
- Health visitors
- Midwives
- Family nurses
- Social work
- GPs
- MNPI and PMH colleagues
If you are not mentioned in the above list but consider a referral is necessary, please speak to the named person or lead practitioner for the infant.
Making a referral
To make a referral:
- Get consent from the parent or carer. A parent and carer information sheet is available on Athena to support discussion
- Phone the advice line (01563 825 680) or e-mail the clinical mailbox (aa.infantmentalhealth@aapct.scot.nhs.uk) to discuss suitability of referral. Please note, referrals will not be processed unless you have had prior phone or email correspondence with the team regarding suitability.
- If the referral is suitable, the IMH Team will send you a referral form. Please return the completed referral form to the above clinical mail box
- You will receive a response of the outcome of the referral as soon as possible with the aim of not exceeding 10 working days.