Support for fathers with perinatal depression

AFTER her daughter Elle took her own life six years ago, Mandy Chism made a personal promise to do whatever she could to prevent other local people from suffering the same tragic fate.

In the aftermath of her daughter’s death, Mandy resolved that she would make it her mission to educate young people about anxiety, depression and suicide.

Since making that vow, the Omagh woman has helped educate thousands of local school pupils about mental health through the Hopeful Minds programme.

But recently Mandy has turned her attention away from schoolchildren and towards their parents.

More specifically, Mandy has spotted a gap in mental health support services for local fathers, and has decided to do something about it.

Recently, Mandy worked closely with suicide prevention charity, Resilio. She also arranged for an expert from Wales to deliver a series of father-focused mental health training sessions for local people.

Much of the money used to launch the course was raised during a fundraiser held by Delta Health and Performance Omagh in November 2021.

“Generally speaking,” Mandy said, “we don’t pay enough attention to the needs of men, and especially dads. People think that perinatal depression only affects women, but that is not the case.”

According to recent studies, Mandy explained, one in ten new fathers suffer from postnatal depression, which is similar to the figure for new mothers.

Furthermore, she said, fathers with mental health problems during the perinatal period are up to 47 times more likely to be classed as a suicide risk than at any other time in their lives.

With these frightening figures in mind, Mandy, with the help of Resilio, brought a men’s mental health expert from Wales to the North last week to train local people on how to provide emotional and psychological support for fathers.

“The expert’s name is Mark Williams and after speaking to him on the phone a few times, I knew he was the person we needed to help her bring better support to fathers around Omagh, as well as the wider west.

“I heard his passion and knowledge and knew we could work together to help dads around Omagh and across Northern Ireland.”

Those who attended the programme will now find themselves in a better position to raise awareness around men’s mental health, and to offer support to those who need it.

“Our ambition now is two-fold,” explained Mandy.

“Firstly, we want to raise awareness around men’s mental health, let people know how common perinatal depression is for new fathers, and generate an atmosphere of openness around these issues.

“But, as well as raising awareness and breaking stigma, we want to offer practical support.”

Mandy said that this father-focused mental health programme is underpinned by the idea of ‘reaching in’, as opposed to the passive notion of being available for people who wish to ‘reach out’.

“We want to talk with local dads and find out what they would like to see what sort of support groups they would like to see put in place, whether that be walk and talk groups, or casual fishing days where new fathers get a chance to chat with each other about how they are feeling.”

Mandy thanked both Director of Resilio Marie Dunne and Mark Williams for the role they played in establishing the programme.

“We could not have done it without them.

“Hopefully, the coming months, we will see the support available for local fathers brought up speed with that which is presently there for mothers.”