Mummy Matters Counselling

11/05/2023

03/05/2023

When you need a hand to hold, and so much more.

02/05/2023

1-7th May. Make your mental health a priority this week. .org.au

01/05/2023

As mothers out health, especially mental health can often be at the bottom of the priority list. Make it your priority today and take an assessment. Check out and .org.au for advise on which assessments are the best.

10/04/2023

Peer support workers are becoming a more common thing in our hospitals, in particular in mental health services, but we are yet to see peer support in most of our maternity hospitals. You might say that is the job of the midwife, well actually it’s not. You might say that’s what Doula’s are for well actually it’s not. What we need is women who have experienced the unexpected to support those who experience the unexpected including physical and psychological birth trauma. I think about my second birth when my husband left to look after our older daughter, if I would of had someone who had gone through what I did it would have made all the difference in my early recovery

05/04/2023

.org.au

10/01/2023

Research shows that peer support groups can help people:
feel accepted.
compare experiences.
find new coping strategies.
increase knowledge.
improve social skills.
improve self-efficacy.
self-manage their condition.
improve their quality of life.

Join our new group Let's Talk Mummy Matters via the link in the bio. This group is a safe space to share learn and grow about all thing perinatal mental health.

09/01/2023

Discrimination during the perinatal period can bring on various mental health issues including trauma. Unfortunately some LGBTQI+ parents still experience discrimination particularly unconscious bias in the healthcare service. Check out our blog post on this topic at www.mummymatterscounselling.com via the link in the bio.

A safe space to share, learn and grow. Receive mental healthcare in person or in the comfort of your home from a Perinatal Specialist. We use CBT, ACT, EMDR, Mindfulness and Meditation and more as part of our multimodal approach to common mental health issues experienced in the perinatal period.

06/01/2023

Becoming pregnant and then a new parent is like joining a new club. New rules, members, fun events. It can also be hard and having the support of other members can be powerful. Mummy Matters Counselling believes in the power of peer support, which is why we have created a safe space for people with a lived experience of perinatal mental health issues to share and feel supported.
Join our FREE support group via the page or link in the bio.

06/12/2022

Do one thing for yourself and put your needs to the top of the priority list today. 1 in 5 women experience perinatal mental health issues, most of which can be avoided if we practice frequent selfcare. You matter to them and you should matter to you too.

Head to www.mummymattercounelling.com to check out heaps of FREE resources or contact our counsellors direct on [email protected]

01/12/2022

Mum shaming is a very real issue and an easy trap to fall into. It can be subtle and well not so subtle!! Mum shaming is judging other mums for their parenting choices. It’s a small way for some women to gain stature among a group by tearing down others. And as horrible as it sounds, it happens a lot. You may have done it yourself without even knowing.
In fact, sometimes you may be unintentionally shaming other moms by what you’ve said. Being a mum is tough! And you know as well as anyone that hormones run high among new mums. Which means what you think might have been a totally harmless question or comment could be taken by another mum as hurtful. So, before you speak up, make sure you’re not doing one of these things that might make your fellow mamas feel badly about themselves and their choices. Support and empower other mums, help and encourage them. Who knows maybe one day you will need the same in return.

27/11/2022

How often do you hear a mum referring to her ‘baby brain’ after forgetting to lock the door, pack a snack, or put her jumper on backwards?! You may have assumed that she was sleep deprived or has too much going on. This may be true and certainly contribute, but research has also shown that hormone changes in the brain in the perinatal period also have an effect of the brains executed functioning responsible for planning, organising, and time management. So the next time your mum friend is late for a catch up, don’t blame her for being unorganised. It’s truely is out of her hands and in her brain.

25/11/2022

You are not alone. Get early support to prevent further mental health issues.
Head over to www.mummymatterscounselling.com for FREE downloadable guides and videos.
Link in bio.

25/11/2022

If you are anything like me, you find thinking of fun and creative activities for your baby shower tough. For my first baby shower I bought plain white onesies and fabric texters and got everyone to create their own fun designs. I donated them to St Kilda Mums]. Why not try this or, ask your guest to put together mummy or baby bundles from a selection of times you supply. They could even write a personalised note to a mummy who may not have been blessed enough to have a baby shower and would be very grateful to receive a gift for her or her new baby. Head to St Kilda Mums] to find out the items they need the most, but toiletries are always needed.

24/11/2022

Becoming a parent for the first, second, third, or even fourth time can be hard. Studies show that mental health issues are more likely to appear following a significant life changing event. Speaking to a registered counsellor about your thoughts and feelings can help you through the difficult times and allow you to enjoy this time.

23/11/2022

Signs you could benefit from counselling
You have experienced a life changing event.
Changes in appetite, sleeping patterns and physical health.
You feel dissatisfied with your life.
You're worried about someone you care for.
Family or friends have suggested counselling to you.

22/11/2022

Today is Giving Tuesday. Consider donating to one of these amazing charities. You can even set one of these up as your chosen charity in your PayPal account. Head to www.paypal.com/au/fundraiser to search for a charity. Or head over to one of the charities below and donate direct .org.au .org.au

21/11/2022

In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. Benefits of gratitude
Improves self-esteem.
Improves energy and health.
It makes us happier and more optimistic.
More resilient and deal with adversity better.
Keeps you in the present moment.
Be happier and notice the present moment more.
Lower stress, anxiety and thoughts. Try starting a gratitude diary. Write down 5 things each day you are grateful for. Do it without judgement and notice the emotions you feel with each thing. Some might make you happy, safe, or calm. Head to www.mummymatterscounselling.com for more information on Perinatal mental health.

20/11/2022

Awareness of postnatal depression is high. However, areas including anxiety, ptsd, ocd, psychosis, and men’s mental health in the perinatal period are less well-understood. There remains considerable scope, and a need for, continued awareness-raising around anxiety, mental health in pregnancy and men’s mental health.

18/11/2022

17/11/2022

Today is so let’s talk about the mental health effects it had on parents and families.

15/11/2022

Counselling is a process of talking about and working through your personal problems with a counsellor. The counsellor helps you to address your problems in a positive way by helping you to clarify the issues, explore options, develop strategies and increase self-awareness. Counsellors help people who are facing problems usually cause by events that have changed their normal circumstances. Counsellors also support people with mental illnesses like depression, anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder. A perinatal counsellor specialises in helping those in the pregnancy to 2 years after birth period.

The more we talk, the easier it gets.

For more information check out the links in the bio or head to www.mummymatterscounselling.com

14/11/2022

Counselling and psychotherapy both use psychological techniques to help patients deal with stressors and mental illnesses.

Psychotherapy involves an intensive search and investigation of the issue at hand while counselling places more emphasis on providing an immediate solution to current grievances.
Counselling is more like guidance to make well informed decisions while psychotherapy involves deep rooted and fundamental behavioural patterns and psychological issues.
Counselling has always been connected with educational and social-work settings, whereas psychotherapy has traditionally been associated with psychopathology, psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, and medical settings.
Counselling focuses on less serious difficulties and is a temporary procedure while psychotherapy involves quite an amount of time to get to the root of chronic, visceral issues and address them properly.
Counselling is usually done in an outpatient context, whereas psychotherapy is done in both an inpatient and outpatient setting.
Psychotherapy is frequently used to treat a diagnosable mental health illness such as depression, schizophrenia amidst others while counselling is typically wellness-oriented, offering deeper insight and teaching how to effectively handle problems and challenges.
Counselling addresses social, career, and educational issues, whereas psychotherapy concentrates on adaptation and psychological issues.
Counselling focuses on basic life challenges that most people encounter at some point in their lives, such as stress at work, relationship problems, family issues or emotionally difficult changes like the death of a loved one, where psychotherapy specializes in working to improve problems with a person’s fundamental thoughts, beliefs, or feelings.

10/11/2022

1 in 5 women experience perinatal mental health issues. Check out our signs and symptoms video and fact sheet to see if you need to get some support at www.mummymatterscoundelling.com or via the link in the bio.

08/11/2022

In Australia, Aboriginal women experience depression and anxiety in the perinatal period at a significantly higher rate than non-Aboriginal women.

Aboriginal women have reported feeling a distrust in mainstream health services, a reluctance to ask for help, and a fear of possible consequences such as the removal of the children if they are seen to have a mental health disorder. Check out the rest of the blog on www.mummymatterscounselling.com or via the link in the bio.

06/11/2022

1 in 5 mothers will experience symptoms of depression and anxiety in the perinatal period. Often many do not realise it! Which is easy to do when society tells us that ‘all women are emotional in pregnancy, it’s the hormones’. If you want to know more about the signs and symptoms of common perinatal mental health issues head over to www.mummymatterscounselling.com or the link in the bio for our FREE resources.

04/11/2022

We know this is easier said than done, but prioritising sleep is essential to good mental health. Even if you manage to add an extra 40 mins to your nightly sleep you will see the benefits. Think about your night time routine. Do you watch TV, your phone etc, do you eat, drink (tea, wine etc) and what is your sleep environment like?

We spend so much effort on our children's night-time routines that we forget to apply the same principles to our our.

Let's normalise going to bed earlier. I personally go to bed at 9pm and I an proud of it. But it seems to be a badge of honour if you stay up late.

Good night...

03/11/2022

A common theme I hear when speaking with parents is they all have that one sentence spoken by a health care professional that has stayed with them.
For me it was after my c-section, the surgeon took one look at my tummy and said "Oh wow, what a mess. This is going to take some time". I was high as a kite, my baby had gone with her father, I had been projectile vomiting for an hour, and I remember thinking, "oh god, what have they done to me." That was 5 years ago and I can still hear it loud and clear.

Health care professionals need to be more aware of the throw away comments they make, often when they think we cannot hear them, and remember that the things they say stay with us and have a profound effect.

I bet if you ask any parent if they have a sentence they remember they have at least one. What is yours? Comments below.

02/11/2022

I think we have all heard this one. I put this in the same category as all the other 'useless parenting advice', you get that has us all pegged as the same. Well we know that what works for one parent does not always work for another.

Most parents these days live without extended family, have jobs, other children and commitments... basically we are expected to never stop. So when do we have time to sleep when the baby sleeps. Even if you do find the time to sleep when the baby is napping it can be difficult to relax and 'switch off'.

"I remember some of the mums in my mothers group saying that they would have a mid morning nap with the baby. I was so jealous of this. I tried, many times. I would get the baby down and start to relax them POP I would remember I had to do something and I knew that I would not get chance later" - Tina

Some reasons for not being able to sleep when your baby sleeps are:

HORMONES
SLEEP DISRUPTIONS
PERINATAL MENTAL ILL HEALTH

Check out this fact sheet for more information.
https://www.cope.org.au/new-parents/first-weeks/lack-sleep/