What is PIRI?

About the Parent-Infant Research Institute

The Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI) is committed to supporting parents and babies (0-24 months) to enhance well-being and children's healthy development. Parenthood can be more challenging than anticipated, and at our Infant Clinic we encourage parents to nurture themselves and their babies and feel comfortable to ask for professional help in times of stress ? from our psychologists, their GPs, or nurses.

PIRI provides a unique contribution to early intervention in Australia by combining:

* Research results in evidence-based treatments of how to improve difficulties facing parents and infants
* A unique team of clinical and academic staff to inform the development and application of innovative interventions.

PIRI is a vigorous and innovative Australian research institute whose aim is to develop and apply treatments to improve the emotional well-being of parents and infants.

PIRI's Track Record

PIRI highlights include:

* Victoria's largest treatment research centre for postnatal depression.
* Developing novel parent/infant interventions.
* A track record of turning research into practice.
* Training professionals in parent/infant mental health.
* Conducting research which has an international reputation.
* Expertise in prematurity.

In addition, our track record includes:

* A 10-year history developing interventions to deal with parent-infant difficulties following postnatal depression. This includes producing the only Australian psychological treatment for postnatal depression evaluated in a randomised trial and published with international recognition (translated into Italian and French).
* Extensive network with over 100 Maternal and Child Health Centres where we have collaborated and set up screening programs for postnatal depression and provided training to improve capacity to manage these conditions.
* Victorian Principal Researcher of the beyondblue National Postnatal Depression Program with antenatal screening of over 10,000 women in Victoria.
* Cutting edge research in prematurity and the effect of parent-sensitivity training on brain development, with the recent award of an NHMRC grant.

Aims & Objectives of PIRI

The Parent-Infant Research Institute (PIRI) is committed to supporting parents and babies (0-24 months) to enhance well-being and children's healthy development. Parenthood can be more challenging than anticipated, and at our Infant Clinic we encourage parents to nurture themselves and their babies and feel comfortable to ask for professional help in times of stress ? from our psychologists, their GPs, or nurses.

PIRI provides a unique contribution to early intervention in Australia by combining:

* Providing research that results in evidence-based treatments of how to improve difficulties facing parents and infants
* A unique team of clinical and academic staff to inform the development and application of innovative interventions

PIRI has five major objectives:

* Early Intervention- a model treatment centre for parent-infant disturbance;
* Research into early infancy, parenting and intervention- basic and clinical;
* Information to influence policy e.g., benchmarking;
* Enhancement of community awareness of needs and destigmatizing of infant mental health issues and
* Involvement of other centres in collaborative relationships.