Name, Title
About the Program
Intrusive thoughts are often negative, scary or confronting ideas or images that pop into our heads when we don’t want them to be there. 100% of new mothers report unwanted, intrusive thoughts of harming their infant by accident, and 50% report unwanted, intrusive thoughts of harming their infant on purpose. We all have intrusive thoughts, but these are increased during the perinatal period and can be very distressing. Many parents report feeling as though they are alone in this experience.
Working with parents with intrusive thoughts or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), whether in the context of maternity care, maternal and child health care or psychological therapy, can be very confronting and anxiety provoking for health professionals.
This full day workshop aims to boost your knowledge and confidence in this area so that you can respond in a regulated and helpful way.
At the end of this training you will be able to:
Describe the facts about intrusive thoughts and OCD including the core symptoms, prevalence, aeitology, risk factors, impacts to the parent-infant attachment relationship, and obstetric outcomes
Assess the risk for both parent and infant safety
Describe evidence-based assessment measures and tools
Describe evidence-based best-practice treatment approaches and specific interventions in the context of perinatal specific factors and the parent-infant dyad
Be aware of common professional-client relationship considerations where the client presents with intrusive thoughts or OCD
This course is suitable for any perinatal health professional wanting to get a better understanding of the nature of intrusive thoughts and OCD and an overview of applicable assessment and treatment approaches.
Date: Wednesday September 17th 2025
Time: 9:00am-3:00pm AEDT (Melbourne time)
Where: Zoom
About the Instructor
Frances Bilbao
What People Say is the Best Thing About This Training
"I really enjoyed the information provided about intrusive thoughts; information was really relevant and grounded in obvious extensive experience and understanding about the complexities of the perinatal period."
"Frances's capacity to explain the topic, explore it in a meaningful/felt way and synthesise the different treatment approaches."
"Clarity and variety of information provided. The application of Schemas alongside with CBT was really valuable"
"It was all really useful"
"Thank you for the insights and little pearls that I will be quoting to my clients in the future"
"Very informative, concise, not too long"
"Very engaging. Relevant. Well structured and presented"
"Great up-to-date information, and explained very well and presented well."
"Wonderful presentation skills. Very comprehension. Treatise of mixed media in the presentation."
Frances is an advocate for mothers, an experienced health sector leader, founder, Director and Clinical Psychologist. Frances is a 2024 Cartier Women's Initiative Fellow, the 2024 Telstra Business Awards Championing Health VIC State Winner and 2020-2021 Allied Health Awards Psychologist of the Year for her establishment and operation of Mums Matter Psychology, a leading perinatal psychology practice with a social conscience. Frances values human connection and is a passionate adventurer. Life excites her and she is always seeking out new experiences and knowledge. Whether it's travelling or delving deep into the human mind as a Clinical Psychologist, she thrives on curiosity.
She is the winner of the 2021 Australian Psychological Society (APS) College of Clinical Psychology Significant Contribution Award, the 2019 APS Elaine Dignan Award and her team at Mums Matter Psychology, the 2020-2021 Allied Health Awards Adult Team of the Year.
Within Mums Matter Psychology, Frances leads a team of 85 perinatal mental health clinicians. She is a registered Supervisor for Psychologists and oversees the training of Masters students, interns and Clinical Registrars.
Frances is a full member of the Australian Psychological Society (APS) where she is the National Convenor of the Perinatal and Infant Psychology Interest group and Fellow of the College of Clinical Psychologists. She has over 10 years of clinical experience working with clients in the perinatal phase and has authored and presented at various Perinatal Mental Health and Maternal & Child Health conferences. Frances also has extensive experience working on projects across multiple industries in her former career as a management consultant and has a passion for community development.
Frances has extensive training in perinatal psychology through institutions such as University of Sydney, The Royal Women's Hospital (Melbourne), Royal Children's Hospital (Melbourne), Parent and Infant Research Institute (PIRI), Centre for Perinatal Psychology Centre of Perinatal Excellence (COPE) University of Exeter.
She is an accredited Circle of Security Parent Educator and Bringing Baby Home (Gottman Institute) workshop facilitator. She is trained in the Newborn Behavioural Observation (NBO) system.