Telehealth has become a permanent part of our health care services. This means that those who have been eligible to receive a Mental Health Care Plan, are now able to receive a Medicare Rebate for online and face to face sessions. And this is a real celebration for parents, as it reduces the barrier for parents to engage in professional mental health support.
At Restored Wellbeing, we always welcome babies into sessions, both online and in clinic. For us, the parent-infant dyad is a given. For mothers though, attending a face to face session can create difficulties. Not all families have local child care support, not all have their own transport and some families have vulnerable medical conditions that restrict their desire to enter public spaces. Parents of premature babies or those requiring oxygen support may think twice before seeking out support if this could compromise their baby’s health. Similarly, some parents may elicit to stay home before their baby is immunised. For some babies, car trips result in distress and the parent sitting with a screaming baby for an extended duration may feel its easier to just stay home.
The increased use of telehealth in the past few years has greatly benefitted many of our clients. Parents will sometimes book when their baby sleeps - imagine not having to wake the baby for multiple transfers! Some clients have multiple children at home, and this allows their young children to be occupied without having to actually leave or to have another family member or partner look after the baby whilst also being able to bring the baby in if needed eg. if breastfeeding. Many parents find that if their partner is working from home, they can afford to take an hour’s leave to accommodate the appointment, but taking the additional time that is needed for transport and logistics can quickly add up.
All clinicians at Restored Wellbeing love babies and children. We delight in hearing the background noises of a family and are more than happy to pause whilst a mother needs to attend to her child. Yes, we sometimes only see the tops of heads, or the ceiling whilst our clients attend to their little people. That’s fine! Your identity as a parent doesn’t pause just because you attend counselling. These moments give us rich information about your lived experience and help us to understand your struggles and equally, your delight.
The most important thing is for parents to be able to invest in their own mental health and telehealth makes that possible. Whilst not all sessions are suitable for telehealth, the majority are. If you are feeling uncertain about utilising telehealth, please reach out, and we can talk you through this process.