Are you passionate about Maternal Mental Health? Are you interested in being part of the solution in this vital area of mental health that has been largely neglected in Aotearoa? Thanks to COGS funding, we can now provide you with free training in maternal mental health programmes and free clinical supervision. If you are a qualified therapeutic clinician: counsellor, psychologist, registered social worker, mental health nurse or occupational therapist specialising in mental health – you can train in our “Out of the Fog” programme and our Preparing for Parenthood programme and deliver it to your area! We are extending an invitation to train and deliver the Preparing for Parenthood program to Midwives and Childbirth Educators.
Free training and supervision is available to the following areas (thanks to COGS funding): Far North, Whangarei, Papakura, Hamilton, Matamata, South Waikato, Gisborne, Manawatu, Tauranga, Rotorua, Napier/Hastings, Hawkes Bay, Whanganui, Porirua, Wellington.
- Gain valuable professional development and training valued at $1260
- Use a programme that has so far 10 years of data to prove its effectiveness with Edinburgh scores halved and 65-90% well by course end
- Receive quality clinical supervision directly with the author of the “Out of the Fog” programme Kristina Grace – to improve your understanding and skills in both mental health and maternal mental health
- Become certified and listed as a clinician delivering the programme in your area on our website and the “Out of the Fog” website
- As a certified clinician delivering this programme, you are free to use it in individual sessions or group sessions for general anxiety and depression (not just perinatal anxiety/depression) as there are manuals and workbooks available for general anxiety and depression also
- Anyone who has trained in the ‘Out of the Fog‘ programme will also be trained in our holistic assessments
- Mothers Helpers has started to partner with midwives and plunket clinics in Auckland to provide in-person free assessments to mothers attending those clinics. This has worked so well in terms of reaching mothers early on in their distress and supporting existing supportive services to mothers, making it more accessible overall. Those trained in our assessments and programmes will have the opportunity to deliver free assessments in midwifery/plunket clinics to their local area in July 2026.
If you live outside these funded areas and want to deliver these groups, you can purchase the training and supervision here:
Train in the Out of the Fog Programme
How does it work?
- Negotiate an agreement with Mothers Helpers if you would like to be affiliated with our service. This would mean that you would receive supervision sessions and referrals from us and we would advertise your group therapy programmes through our social media and newsletter/email campaigns
- Train in the online “Out of the Fog” and/or “Preparing for Parenthood” programme at your pace (total number of hours training is 6 hours with some additional reading)
- Receive monthly supervision sessions with Kristina Grace the author of the “Out of the Fog” and/or “Preparing for Parenthood” programmes
- Source your own clients to start an “Out of the Fog” group therapy programme – these might be clients that you are already working with through another agency or referred to you by a third party that is funding them. Please note that if these clients aren’t funded and you are needing them to self-fund, this would have to be via Mothers Helpers so that we can ensure a consistent flat rate across the country and pay you accordingly as a contractor
- You are paid by us based on paying clients attending your groups. Groups must have a minimum/maximum of six for the Preparing for Parenthood (three couples or seven sole parents) or seven mothers for the Out of the Fog programme. Pay rates are as follows: $116 per Out of the Fog group session (1.5hrs) and $110 per Preparing for Parenthood session (1.5hrs). Clients unable to pay for the programme in one sum can pay it off in weekly installments and join the next group you run.
- Receive referrals from Mothers Helpers for your area. Any referrals that we receive in your local area will be sent to you to follow up on. There might be very few or quite a lot but we cannot guarantee referrals which is why we ask you to source clients in your area. We often have clinicians approaching us from small cities or towns that we don’t get a lot of referrals for, and so while we can support you as best we can – we cannot provide you with clients for your groups, this would need to be sourced by you through your networks
- When we have established a clinician in an area, we can then start applying for local funding to support that venture. Any funding awarded to us will help us promote your group, pay for any subsequent training or supervision and potentially fund some attendees who would otherwise be unable to afford the group.
To apply: Email your CV and cover letter to Kristina Grace kristinap@mothershelpers.org.nz
Note: We get a lot of interest from people wanting to train in the programme/s who do not fall into our recognised qualified categories. We are sorry but unless you are a qualified counsellor or psychotherapist, registered social worker, occupational therapist (with mental health training), psychologist or mental health nurse we cannot approve your request to complete the training. The offer to train and deliver the Preparing for Parenthood programme is extended to Midwives and Child Birth Educators.
