What if we could prepare parents for the transition into parenthood —
not just birth, but what comes after?
Pregnancy and early parenthood bring profound developmental change — not only for babies, but for adults, relationships, and families.
Yet much of perinatal care is understandably focused on specific moments or needs: birth, feeding, sleep, mental health symptoms, infant development. This support matters deeply.
What’s often missing is a shared map for the transition itself — how motherhood, fatherhood, and parenthood reshape identity, relationships, emotional life, and family wellbeing over time.
Becoming Us fills this gap by bringing this transition into view and offering a clear, relationship-developmental map that professionals can use to meet parents where they’re at, while gently orienting them to the terrain ahead.
If you work with expecting or new parents
Whether you’re a midwife, nurse, psychologist, counsellor, GP, social worker, allied health professional, educator, coach, or community practitioner, you’re likely already working at the edges of change — even if that’s not your primary focus.
You may notice moments such as:
tension or withdrawal between partners, shared directly or hinted at by your client
emotional overwhelm that feels significant, but doesn’t neatly fit diagnostic categories
differences in coping, expectations, or adjustment between parents
parents struggling not because something is “wrong,” but because so much is changing at once
These experiences are common, developmentally normal, and often relational — yet they can be difficult to hold when time is limited and scope matters.
Becoming Us offers a way to meet parents where they’re at, name what’s happening without alarm, and gently orient them to what lies ahead — holding challenges together rather than locating them within one parent, and supporting whole-family wellbeing without turning normal transitions into pathology.
Parenthood changes more than routines
The transition into parenthood is one of the most significant developmental shifts in adult life.
It affects:
identity and sense of self
couple relationships
emotional regulation and mental health
connections with family, friends, and community
And yet, there is often no clearly defined role responsible for preparing parents for these changes — or for supporting them to navigate the relational and emotional terrain that unfolds after birth.
When parents are blindsided by these shifts, the impact can be felt across individual wellbeing, couple relationships, and family functioning.
A unique relationship-developmental approach
Grounded in:
research
clinical practice
and lived experience
and informed by adult attachment theory and developmental psychology.
Rather than focusing on “fixing problems,” Becoming Us helps professionals:
anticipate common, normalised challenges
support parents before distress escalates
work preventively and relationally
meet parents where they’re at
and support what’s unfolding as families grow
This work doesn’t add complexity — it often brings clarity and relief, for both parents and professionals.
Making a meaningful difference — within scope
If you work with parents in any capacity, you already have the potential to make a lasting difference.
Becoming Us equips you with:
a clear developmental map for the transition to parenthood
language to normalise relational and emotional change
practical frameworks for working with individuals, couples, or groups
confidence to offer family-centred, preventative support
and permission to name what often goes unspoken
Many professionals describe the shift from educating parents to facilitating reflection, connection, and understanding as some of the most meaningful work of their careers.
Conjoint Professor Bryanne Barnett AM, Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, University of NSW
“We know that there is a reciprocal relationship between partner satisfaction and mental health and yet this vital factor is rarely included in the education of perinatal health professionals or in the course of their work. Receiving positive and appropriate social support from the partner is often cited as the most important variable in avoiding perinatal mental health difficulties, but we rarely seem to set about addressing this appropriately over the course of pregnancy and the early postpartum years.
We are missing what could be our best opportunity for prevention and early intervention in mental health for the whole family.
Becoming Us provides a vital missing piece of the perinatal wellbeing puzzle that is too often overlooked and goes unaddressed. I recommend this practical, insightful and transformative professional training to those who want to provide effective parenthood preparation and support.”
Training pathways for professionals
Becoming Us training is designed as a developmental pathway, supporting professionals to grow their relational confidence and capacity over time.
There are three ways to begin, depending on your role, setting, and what you’re noticing in your work with parents.
Each entry point stands alone — and each opens into the wider Becoming Us approach.
Three ways to begin
Holding the Space — Masterclass
An orientation for perinatal professionals around recognising and responding to relational strain
This orientating masterclass supports professionals to recognise early signs of relational strain — such as tension, withdrawal, or overwhelm — and respond in ways that are containing, non-pathologising, and within scope.
It’s a good starting point if you:
work briefly or one-to-one with parents
notice relational dynamics but don’t deliver structured programs
want language and confidence to respond in the moment
are looking for a gentle introduction to the Becoming Us lens
Holding the Space strengthens relational awareness that can be applied immediately in everyday practice.
The Seed Planting Workshop
Shaping how challenges are anticipated, understood and carried
Most perinatal professionals work primarily with one parent at a time — often mothers — while being deeply aware that relationship dynamics, partner responses, and family context are shaping what unfolds at home.
The Seed Planting Workshop was designed specifically for this reality.
It supports professionals to work in a father- and partner-inclusive, relationship-focused way, even when the partner is not present in the room.
This workshop is well suited if you:
usually see one parent, but want to avoid unintentionally individualising relational challenges
want to include partners and relationships in how issues are framed, not just who is present
notice that stress, difference, or strain can quietly divide parents if not named carefully
want a simple, repeatable response technique that fits within scope
Seed Planting focuses on how challenges are understood and carried — helping professionals shape issues in ways that:
normalise difference
reduce blame or polarisation
keep the couple relationship intact
and make it easier for parents to hold things as a shared experience
It’s not a couples intervention.
It’s a facilitator-facing way of thinking and responding that supports whole-family wellbeing — even in one-to-one work.
Level I - Foundations of Becoming Us
A comprehensive orientation to the transition to parenthood
Level I is the foundational Becoming Us training and includes the Seed Planting Workshop, alongside a broader orientation to the transition into parenthood.
Level I introduces:
the key transitions into motherhood, fatherhood, and parenthood
adult attachment theory as it applies to early family life
the individual developmental stages of parenthood
a simple three-phase “mud map” of long-term couple relationships
practical ways to include fathers or partners — even when working with one parent
Level I is ideal if you want:
a whole-picture understanding of the transition to parenthood
confidence in naming what’s normal — emotionally and relationally
a shared language you can return to across different settings
a strong foundation for working with individuals, couples, or groups
For many professionals, Level I marks a shift from educating parents to facilitating insight, shared understanding, and connection.
Where the pathway can deepen
For professionals who want to continue building their relational and clinical confidence, Becoming Us offers further depth.
Level II — The Becoming Us 8-Stage Map
Level II introduces the full Becoming Us 8-stage relationship-developmental map.
This level supports professionals to:
locate parents within a clear developmental pathway
understand how challenges evolve across stages
work more confidently with difference, strain, and repair
integrate the map into individual, couple, or group work
Level II offers a structure professionals can return to again and again — helping them hold complexity without losing the relational thread.
Level III — Working with greater complexity
Level III is designed for experienced practitioners working with:
heightened vulnerability
trauma, grief, or perinatal loss
mental health complexity
long-standing relational strain
This level supports professionals to integrate the Becoming Us approach safely and skillfully in more complex clinical contexts — holding both individual distress and the couple relationship with care.
A pathway, not a prescription
There is no “right” place to start.
Some professionals begin with a masterclass.
Others start with Seed Planting or Level I.
Many deepen their work over time through Levels II and III.
Each step:
meets professionals where they’re at
fits within scope
and contributes to a coherent, relationship-developmental way of working with parents.