Once upon a Pandemic: ‘Online’ Therapeutic Groupwork for Infants and Mothers Impacted by Family Violence

Wendy Bunston (), Dianne J. Haufe, Jillian R. Wallis, Robyn Fletcher and Adrian J. Mether
Additional contact information
Wendy Bunston: Wb Training & Consultancy, Moonee Ponds, VIC 3039, Australia
Dianne J. Haufe: Uniting Care Wesley Bowden, Bowden, SA 5007, Australia
Jillian R. Wallis: Mind Australia, Mile End, SA 5031, Australia
Robyn Fletcher: Berry Street, Take Two—Restoring Childhood, Eaglemont, VIC 3084, Australia
Adrian J. Mether: Berry Street, Take Two—Restoring Childhood, Eaglemont, VIC 3084, Australia

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-14

Abstract: This case study describes the transition to an ‘online’ delivery of an evaluated infant mental health group work intervention for infants/mothers impacted by family violence during the COVID 19 pandemic. The imperative to provide early intervention to infants and their mother is outlined. The model and practice principles integral to this intervention are provided and described are four separate groups run online within two different Australian cities. Facilitators of the groups found that they were able to hold the infants and mothers safely in the online space despite the unexpected presence of others in the families’ homes. The home-based nature of the work caused by lockdown restrictions revealed a transparency not found in office-based work, whilst simultaneously, evoking some discomfort. The ease with which infants and young children embraced technology worked in favor of using the online space. Playful, restorative, and creative ways of engaging with a highly vulnerable cohort of families were achieved; enhancing relational repair following both family violence and the isolation created by restrictions imposed by lockdowns. Despite an initial hesitancy to move online, the authors discovered meaningful ways through which to engage, treat and provide safe relational repair work with infants and their mothers impacted by family violence.

Keywords: infant mental health; domestic and family violence; groupwork; online therapy; COVID 19 pandemic (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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