- In-person Event
Perinatal Mental Health
20th Nov, 2026 • 09:30 – 16:30
Price:
Member Registration: £80.00 GBP
Non Member Registration: £100.00 GBP
Presented by Dr Fiona Challacombe
About the event
This in-person workshop has been organised by the Irish Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies. Please note: This event is in-person attendance only, there isn’t the option to view online or watch a recording afterwards.
Venue – Ashling Hotel, Parkgate Street, Dublin 8, Ireland Venue Website
A certificate of attendance will be issued for 6 hours CPD. All hours can be counted as skills development.
Please read the Events Cancellation Policy before booking your place.
Registration closes – Thursday 12th November. Places are limited though, so book early to avoid disappointment!
Synopsis
This workshop will explore the recognition, assessment and cognitive behavioural treatment of mental health difficulties arising during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Drawing on Dr Fiona Challacombe’s extensive clinical and research expertise, particular attention will be given to perinatal anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder, including intrusive thoughts, avoidance, reassurance seeking and difficulties tolerating uncertainty.
This workshop will consider how evidence-based CBT, including exposure-based interventions, can be sensitively adapted to the distinctive psychological, physical and social context of pregnancy and early parenthood. It will provide attendees with clinically relevant insights into formulation, treatment delivery and the importance of supporting both parental wellbeing and parent–infant relationships.
This workshop is aimed at CBT therapists, psychological wellbeing practitioners, clinical and counselling psychologists, mental health nurses, psychiatrists, midwives and other professionals working with women and families during pregnancy and the postnatal period.
Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
– Recognise common presentations of perinatal anxiety and OCD
– Identify key cognitive and behavioural maintaining factors
– Develop a CBT-informed formulation of perinatal mental health difficulties
– Distinguish distressing intrusive thoughts from indicators of actual risk
– Describe how behavioural experiments and exposure with response prevention may be used and adapted in perinatal CBT
– Identify when a person may require specialist assessment, onward referral or more intensive psychological intervention
– Recognise how culture, ethnicity, socioeconomic circumstances, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability and other aspects of diversity may shape the presentation, understanding and treatment of perinatal mental health difficulties, and adapt CBT assessment and intervention accordingly
About the speaker
Dr Fiona Challacombe is an Associate Professor in the Department of Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford. She is also a member of the research staff for the Oxford Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and an Honorary Consultant Clinical Psychologist at Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.
Her work primarily focuses on advancing the understanding and treatment of mental health difficulties in the perinatal period, including during pregnancy and following birth. This includes examining how perinatal mental health difficulties may influence child outcomes through observational and epidemiological research; adapting interventions to optimise outcomes for both parents and children; and developing interventions that address mechanisms through which mental health difficulties may be transmitted across generations. A further area of her work is the development and evaluation of interventions to support parental mental health in the context of high-risk pregnancies and complex birth outcomes.
Fiona’s current research includes evaluating time-intensive treatments for perinatal OCD and anxiety disorders; examining patterns of service use and treatment outcomes using linked maternity and mental health data; evaluating maternal mental health services; investigating the impact of parental mental health difficulties on child development using cohort data; and developing interventions to prevent anxiety and depression following severe pregnancy complications, including hyperemesis gravidarum and preterm prelabour rupture of membranes.
BABCPS Conference – great CPD and CBT opportunity
About the event
This event has been organised by the Liverpool Branch. It is in-person attendance only – the event won’t be recorded.
Venue – The Women’s Organisation, 54 St. James Street, Liverpool, L1 0AB – Venue website
Times: 6.00pm – 8.00pm, with registration from 5.30pm
A certificate of attendance will be issued for 2 hours. Refreshments are included.
Registration closes – Midday on Friday 10th January. Places are limited though, so book early to avoid disappointment!
Synopsis
CBT is capable of producing good outcomes in the treatment of OCD, particularly when Exposure with Response Prevention (ERP) is an integral component of the intervention. Research by Monnica T. Williams (2012) and B.J. Deacon et al (2013) indicates that CBT with ERP has poorer outcomes in treating OCD when sexual obsessions are present.
This presentation will explore some issues and challenges facing CBT therapists treating such clients.
An outline of the basic model of CBT for OCD will be presented with particular reference to these challenges. It may be that client and therapist reluctance to expose fully to the taboo nature is at play in producing poorer outcomes for these problems.
Attendees will take away, a broader knowledge and confidence base to enhance clinical skills in treating existing and new clients. This event is suitable for all CBT Practitioners and Wellbeing Practitioners.
Learning Outcomes:
1) An improved understanding of the basic CBT model of OCD
2) Insight into the particular challenges for CBT therapists working with clients who present with sexual obsessions in OCD
3) The opportunity to learn from role play of ERP in OCD
4) Some possible responses to the challenges in this field
About the presenter(s)
Keith Fearns is a CBT therapist working in private practice. He began working as a mental health social worker in 1971 and was accredited by BABCP in 1994. In that year he worked as a member of the research team which developed the first protocol for Mindfulness Based CBT for Depression.
Keith has specialised in CBT for OCD since 1996. Keith has written a CBT self-help manual for OCD and a novel about OCD called ‘The Woman who Killed her Father Every Day’.
Here you will find information about the conference.
| Member rate* | Emerging Countries** | Students and BABCP Discounted rate members*** | Non Members | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird – until 30th June | £365 | £220 | £220 | £465 |
| Standard – until 29th August | £425 | £270 | £270 | £525 |
| Onsite & after 30th August | £485 | £320 | £320 | £585 |
Thursday 8.30 am to Saturday 4.30 pm. Regstration fee includes refreshments and lunch each day
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BABCPS Conference – great CPD and CBT opportunity
Cancellation
By registering on this BABCP event you accept the following terms and conditions:
All cancellation requests must be made in writing by emailing – events@babcp.com
Online workshops and webinars
An event booking cancelled up to 5 days prior to the scheduled event will receive a full refund.
No refunds will be granted if a cancellation is made fewer than 5 days prior to the scheduled event, or for failure to attend.
BABCP cancels events only when necessary, but reserves the right to do so, as well as to reschedule events and substitute presenters. If an event is cancelled you will be given a full refund of registration fees paid.
Cancellation
All cancellation requests must be made in writing by emailing events@babcp.com
An event booking cancelled up to 14 days prior to the scheduled event will receive a full refund.
An event booking cancelled between 14 and 7 days prior to the scheduled event will receive a 50% refund.
No refunds will be granted if a cancellation is made fewer than 7 days prior to the scheduled event, or for failure to attend.
BABCP cancels events only when necessary, but reserves the right to do so, as well as to reschedule events and substitute presenters. If an event is cancelled by BABCP you will be given a full refund of registration fees paid.
BABCP expressly excludes any liability for any direct or indirect losses or damages arising as a result of an event cancellation and will not be responsible for any associated costs incurred i.e. travel or accommodation
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