In June 2014, Barnardos held a conference "Patients. Parents. People." on the topic of parental mental health. Barnardos has more than 40 services across the country and staff witness increasing incidences of mental health difficulties among parents.
At the conference we heard from a variety of speakers examining the issue of mental health specifically in relation to parents to try and identify ways in which approaches and supports can be improved, leading to better outcomes for parents and their children.
At the conference, we lauched a policy paper:
Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health, Kathleen Lynch TD, opened the conference. Keynote speakers include Dr Agnes Higgins, Director of Nursing TCD; Mary Donaghy, Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland and we also heard from parents, a former child carer, a GP, policy-makers and Barnardos project worker
