Perinatal, Child & Family Hub; Carla Anderson Clinical Psychologist

29/11/2025

So important.

Being a good friend isn’t always about the fun or exciting moments. Often, it’s about being the one who stays and supports when life get's messy. Tag someone who always shows up 💛

✏️StarNetworkFoundation

29/11/2025

✨ A morning of healing, calm, and community. ✨

This morning Magnolia Health hosted our first-ever Christmas Flower Workshop at the Nook Collective, guided by Clinical Psychologist Carla Anderson and brought to life with stunning blooms from Ethereal Floral Boutique.

Twenty incredible women joined us for a peaceful morning of creativity and connection. Each woman walked away with a Christmas arrangement she can be so proud of — but more importantly, with a moment to breathe, ground, and feel supported.

The feedback from participants says it all:
“I really enjoyed creating the flower arrangements; it brought me back into my body in a really beautiful way, and for a moment it even helped ease some of my pain.”
“It was really nice to meet other people who are experiencing the same issues as me, and the floral arrangements helped take my mind off my upcoming surgery.”

This is why we do what we do.
Healing that soothes.
Community that holds.
Spaces that remind women they’re not alone.

Thank you to everyone who joined us this morning for such a special Christmas event — and a big thank you to Carla and Ethereal Floral Boutique for making the morning so special. 🎄

Nook Collective ethereal_floralboutique perinatal_child_family_hub

29/11/2025

28/11/2025

Perinatal Mental Health Week - Day 6

🌱 The unexpected journey of welcoming a premature baby can be a traumatic experience for the entire family. For both parents, the sudden shift from a normal pregnancy to the NICU is incredibly stressful. Fathers often feel the dual pressure of needing to be a rock for their partner while feeling helpless themselves. The NICU environment, medical uncertainty, and feelings of powerlessness can bring significant stress to everyone involved.

🌿 At the Centre for Perinatal Psychology, we understand that parents and prems have had a tricky start to life together.

🪻 We are interested in making sure your relationship is close, connected and mutually enjoyable. Parents who seek help for their own mental health are better able to support and nurture their baby.

🌷 Common reasons parents of preterm infants seek help from us:

🩷 Infant born prematurely or sickly
❤️ Infant in NICU or SCN
🧡 Postnatal depression
💛 Postnatal anxiety
💚 Feeling traumatised by the birth experience
🩵 Feelings of loss about the pregnancy, birth, labour and early postpartum
💙 Difficulty feeling bonded with baby
💜 Struggles caring for high needs premature or sickly baby

✅ Find expert support with the Centre for Perinatal Psychology: https://www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au/parents/postpartum/premature-birth/

28/11/2025

The Hidden Load No One Talks About; Juggling A Newborn And Toddler.

Another glimpse back to a past Perinatal Mental Health Week from 2019, when an amazing colleague of mine Eliza Pike, and I created a series of videos for families. This video is focused on how to navigate juggling the transitions in caring for a newborn baby and toddler. This was a question sent through to us and is so important to share during Perinatal Mental Health Week because it is rarely talked about, even though many parents struggle with it in silence.

The transition from one child to two can bring joy and love, but it can also bring guilt, worry, exhaustion, and a sense of being pulled in every direction. These feelings deserve space and understanding.

Caring for a toddler and a newborn is an emotional load that often goes unseen. Parents are told to be grateful, to cope, to manage, yet the reality is that this season can be incredibly hard. When we do not name these experiences, stigma grows and parents feel even more alone.

PMH Week is about reducing barriers, breaking silence, and making sure parents are supported. Conversations like this help families feel more supported and help clinicians and loved ones recognise signs that a parent may need extra care.

If this is your season, your feelings are valid and you are not alone.

28/11/2025

For anyone wanting to read about Therapeutic Horticulture checkout this article by Kristy Howard who has been such a wonderful support and mentor in my therapeutic horticulture journey. It has been such a privilege learning from, working with and co-facilitating our Nurtured by Nature workshop. Have a read to learn a bit more about nature-based approaches 🌱🌼

It was a lot of fun reflecting on my work and sharing my knowledge and experience about the benefits of therapeutic horticulture and time in nature with UQ Contact magazine for the November issue.

https://stories.uq.edu.au/contact-magazine/gardening-and-well-being/index.html?fbclid=IwVERDUAOUzwlleHRuA2FlbQIxMABzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR7ftFanyD1uB3ueSNC21u618rdy3XPbDNLhA5fo7KgEH9mK2G_Sbblxl0CWBg_aem_BqQSOcKWZ1GBD_dcsTDSaw

28/11/2025

Looking forward to this tomorrow 💐

The Festive Floral Workshop is just around the corner — a slow, creative morning crafted especially for Sunny Coast women navigating pelvic pain. 🌸✨

Step into a calm, nurturing space filled with fresh blooms, soft conversation, and the simple joy of creating something beautiful with your own hands.

Our friends at Ethereal Floral Boutique will gently guide you through making your own seasonal floral arrangement — no experience needed, no pressure, no perfection required.
Just you, a table of gorgeous flowers, and a moment to breathe.

As we create, we’ll share light refreshments, honest connection, and a space where you can feel held, understood, and supported.
A little pause in the busyness of life… and a beautiful way to welcome the season.

What’s included:
✨ All materials provided
✨ Light refreshments
✨ A supportive, uplifting environment
✨ Space to rest, chat, and reconnect with yourself

When & Where:
📍 Nook Collective
📅 Buderim, Sunshine Coast

Hosted with heart by Magnolia Health and the Ethereal Floral Boutique team — supporting Sunshine Coast locals living with Endometriosis, Adenomyosis, Pelvic Pain & painful periods.
Because every woman deserves to be heard, understood, and nurtured. 💛

Come as you are. Leave with something beautiful — in your hands and in your heart. 🎄 https://events.humanitix.com/magnolia-health-christmas-workshop

28/11/2025

Yesterday’s theme for Perinatal Mental Health Week was Multiple Births.

Sharing the Australian Multiple Birth Association post to help raise awareness of the unique challenges multiple birth families face. And also acknowledging families who have experienced the loss of one or more of their babies in a multiple pregnancy 💕

27/11/2025

A Glimpse Back at a video I shared in 2022 for Perinatal Mental Health Week: How to Support Someone Who Is Struggling In The Perinatal Period.

26/11/2025

A big thankyou to Jacinta Thomson from Time to Untangle for her recent presentation at our Sunshine Coast Perinatal and Infant MHPN meeting.

Jacinta presented on “Things I Wish I'd Known: How Early Recognition of Neurodivergence Can Transform the Journey to Parenthood”. Jacinta had us all captivated by her informative and interactive presentation, on such an important topic for many of our parents we see in the perinatal and parenthood period.

Thankyou to all that came along to listen and network.

Rebecca and I are working on dates for 2026 and would love to hear any topics of interest or if maybe you want to present. We also love to have a mix of disciplines come along that have an interest in supporting perinatal and infants mental health including midwives, childhealth nurses, GPs, physios etc. Feel free to message or email us.

To join the network head to;

MHPN’s interactive webinars feature case-based discussions and Q&A sessions led by top experts, modeling interdisciplinary practice and collaborative care.

26/11/2025

Today’s theme for Perinatal Mental Health Week is Pressures of Fatherhood. It has been so wonderful to see more focus on supporting dads. It has always been the norm for me to invite dads into sessions too, and encourage them to have individual support for themselves too. There are some fabulous organizations listed in this post supporting dads.

Here on the Sunshine Coast is the birthplace of Dads Group providing supports for dads locally.

Also checkout other wonderful organisations supporting dads,
two that have recently collaborated; the Centre for Perinatal Psychology has a network of psychologists focused on supporting dads and non-birthing partners, and SMS4dads a text messaging support for dads from conception though to postnatal. The collab was dads speaking for baby campaign illustrations. I’ve already been hearing great feedback. The picture of Louise and I in my last reel on peer support was at a conference in Byron Bay in 2006 where I heard Richard Fletcher founder of Sms4dads present for the first time at a perinatal conference. It’s been a privilege to still be listening to him present and all the amazing work he has done for dads even up to this month at the CAPEA conference.

Perinatal Mental Health Week - Day 4 – Focus on Dads

Stress increases for both Mums and Dads during the perinatal period.
➡️But Dads are often overlooked during this time.

Research tells us that men find it much harder to seek support for emotional problems, with many first-time dads believing postnatal depression and anxiety is a sign of weakness.

🫤 Mental health problems do not discriminate – people from all walks of life can be affected.

✅ Take care of yourself Dads – reach out to someone you trust.

🗣️ And if you know a new Dad, ask him “How are you going?”

👉 Need expert support?
We have you covered. Centre for Perinatal Psychology is a network of 100+ perinatal psychologists around Australia. We love supporting expectant and new fathers and non-birthing partners in their journey. At the Centre for Perinatal Psychology we are interested in the wellbeing of all members of your family, whatever that constellation may be – mother, father, infant, siblings, grandparents. We consider the impact of struggles on all members of the family – having a baby is a family affair.
www.centreforperinatalpsychology.com.au

👌 Plus there are lots of great resource and support options for Dads:
SMS4dads
Dads Group
Dad Mood Booster
Healthy Male