PANDA, Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia, is a phone and online support service for parents and families during pregnancy and the first year of parenthood.
“The person I spoke to listened patiently without any judgment, which gave me the space to express everything I had been holding in.”
– Lambrina, PANDA Community Champion
About PANDA
PANDA is a free, National Safety and Quality Digital Mental Health Standards accredited phone and online service for Australian parents and families. Their resources are informed by evidence-based mental healthcare and lived experience, to support perinatal mental health and wellbeing.
PANDA’s phone and online services provide individuals, their families, support people and health care providers with access to counselling and information to support mental health and wellbeing during the transition to becoming a parent. Their helpline is staffed by trained and experienced counsellors and volunteers, providing a safe, confidential space for any new or expecting parent coping with the challenges of becoming a new parent.
The PANDA website features a range of digital resources and tools including a mental health checklist, evidence-informed information, fact sheets about perinatal mental health and online learning via the PANDA Learning Hub. Their resources have been translated into 40 languages.
Who is PANDA for?
PANDA provides support for Australian parents, families, support people and health care providers working with new and expecting parents, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents, and multicultural families.
Benefits of PANDA
- Telephone counselling service delivered by professional counsellors and dedicated peer support practitioners with a lived experience of perinatal mental health challenges.
- All PANDA services are free to access for community and health care providers
- Counsellors are respectful and compassionate towards all callers, whatever their background, nationality, beliefs or sexuality.
- safe and secure place to disclose personal details or remain anonymous
- Can call if you are finding the transition to parenting tricky, or if you are concerned that you may be experiencing symptoms of perinatal anxiety or depression.
- Interpreters available to support those who speak a language other than English or have a hearing or speech impairment
How Health Practitioners can use PANDA
Health Practitioners refer clients and patients to PANDA telephone-based counselling or peer support by completing an online healthcare provider referral form, for practice support, risk assessment, service navigation and care coordination.
PANDA offers a secondary consultation service, where PANDA’s Helpline Practitioners can provide guidance on a range of topics including clinical case formulation, risk assessment, treatment planning and specialist referral options. They also offer professional development with evidence-based approaches, debriefing and reflective practice, and educational resources.
PANDA also offers health care provider training to support anyone working with expecting and new families who would like to upskill in supporting people experiencing perinatal mental health and wellbeing challenges. Health Practitioners can access a range of interactive online learning modules, online articles, information and clinical guidelines.
You can listen to PANDA’s CEO, Julie Borninkhof, talk more about perinatal mental health challenges in her podcast episode with the Medical Journal of Australia.
Is there a cost to use PANDA?
PANDAs online and telephone support is free to access.
How to access PANDA
The PANDA National Perinatal Helpline is available Monday to Friday, 9am to 7:30pm and Saturdays between 9am and 4pm by calling 1300 726 306.
PANDA library of digital tools and resources is available to access online at https://www.panda.org.au/.
Access mental health checklists translated into 40 languages here. You can also downlad and order free printed resources here.
The PANDA Learning Hub is available at https://learning.panda.org.au/external/catalogue?tenancyId=2.
PANDA Research and Evaluation
A recent survey exploring the experiences of callers to the PANDA National Perinatal Depression Helpline found that 99% of respondents felt understood by staff and volunteers, and 97% reported that PANDA had helped them.
PANDA is a part of many advisory groups and Centres of Research Excellence (CRE). They hope to help researchers pursue collaborative research, improve health outcomes, and promote and translate research into policy and practice.
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