Overview
Advance Your Career in Perinatal Mental Health and earn a Foundational Microcredential
The Foundational Professional Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health is a comprehensive eLearning program that provides an evidence-based introduction to perinatal mental health and equips participants with the skills and confidence to deliver safe, inclusive, and person-centred care.
The program covers the full spectrum of perinatal mental health practice:
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Overview in perinatal mental health: Introduction to perinatal mental health concerns, risk factors, and safe, inclusive, person-centred care principles.
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Antenatal considerations in perinatal mental health: Covers emotional/psychological development during pregnancy, antenatal risk factors, and early intervention strategies.
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Postnatal considerations in perinatal mental health: Focuses on common postnatal challenges, including sleep, physical recovery, attachment, and keeping baby-in-mind.
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Psychosocial screening: Provides practical training on validated screening tools to assess risk and support early engagement in care.
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Self-Care: Focuses on managing vicarious trauma and burnout.
Each module combines engaging videos, readings, listening exercises, and reflective tasks, ensuring that learners not only gain knowledge but also practical insights they can apply in real-world clinical settings. The program allows participants flexibility to fit study around professional and personal commitments.
Upon completion, participants receive a Professional Certificate in Perinatal Mental Health, alongside CPD-recognised micro-credential and digital badges to showcase their achievement.
Content advisory note
Material covered in this module may trigger difficult feelings. Feel free to take a moment for yourself, disengage from the content and utilise any self-care strategies.
Level of Learning
Foundational. This activity is targeted to those new to the topic.
Target audience
This activity is suitable for: psychologists, psychology students, social workers, general practitioners, occupational therapists, nurses, midwives, allied health practitioners, academics, and human resource professionals.
APS CPD-Approved
This activity has been assessed against the APS Standards for CPD activities and approved for its education quality. Learn more about the APS CPD Approval process.
Professional competencies for psychology
The Psychology Board of Australia (PsyBA) have updated the Professional competencies for psychology which come into effect on 1 December 2025. This activity addresses all the PsyBA Professional competencies for psychology.
Related activities
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this activity, participants should be able to:
Perinatal mental health overview
- define perinatal mental health and outline key factors that influence wellbeing during this period,
- identify common perinatal mental health conditions and understand who is affected, when they arise, and how they present,
- describe how and why perinatal mental health challenges can be intensified for particular groups and populations, and
- explain the importance of early identification, appropriate responses, and referral pathways in perinatal mental health care.
Antenatal considerations in perinatal mental health
- describe common antenatal mental health conditions and risk factors that may affect birthing parents during pregnancy,
- identify the impact of antenatal mental health difficulties on maternal wellbeing, foetal development reflective functioning and early relational attachment,
- recognise opportunities for early identification, assessment, and referral within antenatal care pathways, and
- apply trauma-informed, culturally safe and person-centred approaches to supporting mental health during pregnancy.
Postnatal considerations in perinatal mental health
- describe the psychological, relational, and systemic factors that shape adjustment in the postnatal period,
- identify how common perinatal mental health conditions may emerge, persist, or change after birth,
- recognise how attachment, mentalisation, and early caregiving dynamics influence parent-infant well-being, and
- apply inclusive, evidence-informed strategies to support diverse families in the postnatal period.
Perinatal mental health and psychosocial screening
- explain the clinical importance of screening for perinatal mental health concerns across the care continuum,
- know how to accurately administer, score, and interpret validated perinatal screening tools,
- identify key psychosocial and clinical risk indicators as well as client’s strengths, protective factors and resources, and
- identify approaches to having screening and follow-up conversations that are trauma-informed, culturally safe and person centred.
Self-care
- recognise the signs of vicarious trauma experienced by perinatal health professionals,
- describe evidence-based self-care strategies that support emotional, cognitive, and physical wellbeing in practice,
- reflect on personal values, boundaries, and habits that influence self-care and professional sustainability, and
- develop a personalised self-care plan that integrates individual needs, workplace realities and ethical responsibilities.