Perinatal & Maternal Mental Health Service
The Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Team provide specialist mental health assessments and individualised support for women and *birthing people who are planning to conceive, currently expecting a baby and in the 2 year post natal period who are struggling with moderate to severe mental health problems. We also provide pre-conception advice for those with complex medication regimes.
Up to 1 in 5 women* are thought require support for their mental well-being during the antenatal and postnatal periods. We know women* often suffer in silence. We prioritise women* with moderate to severe mental health needs, including those who have a diagnosis of a serious mental health conditions , including those who have experienced serious mental health episodes in the past.
The teams are a multi-disciplinary team made up of:
- Clinical Lead and Team Managers
- Consultant Psychiatrists and Specialist Perinatal Doctors
- Specialist Pharmacist
- Clinical Psychologists and Assistant Psychologists
- Perinatal Mental Health Practitioners (all with a variety of professional backgrounds and specialities)
- Parent Infant Practitioners
- Peer Support Workers
- Secretaries
The maternal mental health service works closely alongside the perinatal mental health service, maternity services, and community services to offer advice and consultation, signposting, emotional support and psychological therapies to women* experiencing moderate to severe/complex mental health difficulties directly linked to the perinatal experience. This would include those with experience of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following birth trauma or perinatal loss (including miscarriage, stillbirth, termination), parent-infant separation at birth due to safeguarding concerns, severe fear of childbirth (tokophobia) and severe fear of foetal medicine.
How To Access our support: Referrals to the Perinatal and Maternal Mental Health Team can be made by any professional, usually a GP, maternity staff or health visitor.
The referral will need to be completed by a staff member using our Perinatal Referral Form and then emailed to single point of access referrals inbox – PerinatalMHReferrals@somersetft.nhs.uk
Health professionals can download a copy of our patient referral form here:
Please note: we cannot accept self-referrals at this time.
What We Do: Following receipt of a referral it will be screened by a duty worker, if deemed appropriate you will be offered an initial triage via video consultation. After the triage you will either be assigned back to primary care services such as GP/health visiting/talking therapies, or offered a further assessment to gain additional information. This assessment is used to identify the needs and any potential risks, as well as ascertain the level of support needed at present.
If continued support is required by our team, where possible the professional who has undertaken the assessment will become your keyworker and offer follow up appointments and appropriate interventions as required. We can co-work alongside other professionals and agencies should they need to become involved (if not already involved in your care).
How We Work: We offer a choice with regards to where a patient/family is seen, including in the home, clinic or via video consultation.
We also support the patient’s chosen other/partner and ensure their needs are considered and can offer a carers assessment if required.
Types of interventions we may offer include:
- mental health practitioner led therapies
- pharmacological advice
- evidence-based psychological therapies such as individual, couple’s or family-based interventions
- evidence-based parent and baby interventions and education on topics such as bonding and attachment.
Waiting and Response Time: We aim to see all routine referrals within 3 weeks but you may contact the duty worker after a referral has been sent in to discuss if you feel an assessment should be undertaken sooner.
