APP knows that meeting and talking to others with experience of postpartum psychosis (PP) is incredibly important in recovering and coming to terms with the experience.

To reach more women and families with support, we offer:

• Online forum – more than 2,800 users with personal experience, accessible to English-speakers worldwide.
• Email service – women, partners and family members throughout the UK are matched with trained volunteers to receive support as long as they need it.
• Video call support – open to women and partners based throughout the UK.
• Face to Face support – meet an APP volunteer in some regions of the UK.

Find out more about APP's peer support service >

APP also runs a number of regional peer support projects, giving women and family members with experience of PP the opportunity to meet and talk with others.

Embedded NHS peer support

We have Peer Support Facilitators and volunteer teams based within some NHS services and Mother and Baby Units (MBUs). These include:

Birmingham and Solihull. Natalie Thompson is APP’s Peer Support Facilitator, working in partnership with Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Natalie supports women and families affected by PP (or other manic/psychotic illness) and runs a regular café group for the area (more details below).

Birmingham MBU and West. This is APP’s second collaboration with the Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust. Soukaina Bennani is our embedded Peer Support Facilitator in the Birmingham Mother and Baby Unit, Sandwell and West Birmingham area, providing peer support to women, their partners and families affected by postpartum psychosis. If you would like to know more about the Birmingham projects,  please email: birmingham@app-network.org

Lancashire and South Cumbria. APP’s Peer Support Facilitator here is Jocelyn Ellams. She works with Lancashire and South Cumbria Trust providing face to face peer support and information to mums and their families at Ribblemere MBU in Chorley and in the community. She supports women who have a history of PP or other manic/psychotic illnesses such as bipolar. You can read more about the project and find out how to get involved as a volunteer here >, or please email: lancsandcumbria@app-network.org

Morpeth. APP's collaborative project with Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust provides peer support to inpatients at Beadnell MBU in Morpeth. Hannah Bisset, National Coordinator (NHS Contracts & Regional Projects), Claire Kilgallon, Peer Support Sessional Worker and Kerry Davison, Peer Support Sessional Worker manage the project at the Unit, and they will also be setting up a monthly group for recovering and recovered women with experience of PP in the region. You can read more about the project and find out how to get involved as a volunteer here>, or please email: morpeth@app-network.org

The Black Country/West Birmingham. Jo Derry is APP's Peer Support Facilitator on our collaborative project with Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust. Jo works with the two perinatal community mental health teams within the Trust - Walsall and Wolverhampton and Dudley and Sandwell - providing peer support to women affected by PP and their families. If you would like to know more about the project, please email: blackcountry@app-network.org

Wales

APP’s South Wales ActionOnPP project was set up to improve the mental health of women facing disadvantage in the area through access to peer support. Our South Wales Coordinator, Ines Beare, and team of volunteers have been supported by the Aneurin Bevan Health Board. The project was funded by Mind and Agenda through the Women Side by Side programme until June 2020. Our Wales team’s work includes campaigning in the region for better awareness and services, building service user engagement with the MBU and training health professionals. There is a lived experience café group for South Wales: southwales@app-network.org and in 2020 we added a café group for North Wales: northwales@app-network.org.

Regional café groups

APP runs a total of seven lived experience café groups where women with PP, as well as their partners and other family members, can meet informally. As well as those in South and North Wales, there are groups are in Sussex, Yorkshire and the north-east, Lancashire and Cumbria, Birmingham and London. Meetings are held online and in person (as Covid-19 restrictions allow).

To find out more about our friendly café groups, visit our Facebook events page

We are continuing to seek funding to make café groups available in even more regions.