Saturday 15th July 2023, 10:00-15:00
Convention Centre Dublin, Ireland

Overview
This WAIMH Pre-Congress Institute will provide an opportunity to participate in a community based experience, which will enable participants to explore and reflect on the topic of Embracing Diversity-Informed Practice in Infant Mental Health across the Globe. The session will specifically feature Infant Mental Health clinical, research, policy and practice work in South Africa, Ireland, Canada and Australia and will be facilitated by two international leaders, within the field of Diversity-Informed Practice and Leadership

The Diversity-Informed Tenets for Work with Infants, Children and Families (The Tenets) will act as a central framework for the day (Irving Harris Foundation Professional Development Network Tenets Working Group, 2018).  The Tenets were developed as a response to the persistent and urgent need to expand professional capacity and deepen the work with families by increasing awareness about inequities in society in addition to guiding people along a path towards social justice (Thomas, Noroña & St. John, 2019).  Diversity-informed practice is a dynamic system of beliefs and values that strives for the highest level of diversity, inclusion and equity and recognizes and centers the historic and contemporary systems of oppression that shape interactions between individuals, organizations, and systems of care (St. John et al., 2012; Thomas et al., 2019). Much like developmental theory, the Tenets and diversity-informed practice begin with centering the self and deepening our own self-awareness and offers ways of analysing and engaging in diversity-informed practice interpersonally, at programme level, organizationally and in policy and advocacy work.

Five presenters will share their work through the lens of diversity-informed practice from their respective regions. Each presentation will be followed by short question and answer session where the audience can engage with the speaker.

A series of experiential exercises and opportunities for reflection and introspection will be provided throughout the day to meet the anticipated learning objectives and to help deepen awareness regarding the important work of diversity- informed practice which is everyone’s business. An opportunity to hear each other’s perspective will be facilitated through conversation with one another and through active audience engagement and participation.

Learning Objectives

• Gain a greater awareness of self from a Diversity-Informed Tenets perspective and how it influences your infant mental health work
• Gain insight into how the Diversity-Informed Tenets and diversity-informed practice shape and influence research, policy and practice in infant mental health
• Gain deeper awareness of historical and present day settler colonial context and its implications for infant mental health

Invited Speakers

Invited Facilitators

Presentations

• Self-awareness leads to better services for families: Working with infants and families within a diverse multi-cultural and political setting
  Salisha Maharaj, Tygerberg Hospital and Dr Juané Voges, Stellenbosch University
• A Canadian Perspective on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
  Dr Chaya Kulkarni, Infant Mental Health Promotion, Sickkids
• Beyond political correctness: making diversity informed practice in infant mental health meaningful and sustainable when developing perinatal and infant mental health services
  Dr Elisabeth Hoehn, Queensland Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health
• Who am I, who are you? First steps to critical self-awareness
  Dr Colette Murray, Technological University Dublin

You can register now as part of the main congress registration or book to attend the Institute only. Places are limited and so you are advised to book as soon as possible to secure your place.