Recommended resources, acknowledgements and references for the 'Caring for you' collection in The Possums Sleep Program

The information and suggestions in the Caring for you collections within The Possums Sleep Program are not a substitute for health professional support, though I'd still suggest you try them out! If you have concerns about your own mental health and wellbeing, please talk this over with your GP.

Recommended resources

Books

Title and link	Author
The discontented little baby book	Associate Professor Adjunct Pamela Douglas
Raising an emotionally intelligent child: the heart of parenting.	Professor John Gottman & Joan DeClair
The joy of parenting: an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy guide to effective parenting in the early years	Dr Amy Murrell and Dr Lisa Coyne

Videos

Title and link	Author
Missing out	Dr Russ Harris
Monsters on a boat	Dr Russ Harris
The choice point	Dr Russ Harris
The struggle switch	Dr Russ Harris
Hands as thoughts	Dr Russ Harris
The happiness trap: evolution of the human mind	Dr Russ Harris
The five mindfulness myths	Dr Russ Harris
Internal struggles (the chessboard metaphor)	Dr Russ Harris
The stageshow metaphor	Dr Russ Harris
Values vs goals	Dr Russ Harris
Radio Doom & Gloom	Dr Russ Harris
Masterclass: unhooking yourself from unhelpful thoughts	Dr Russ Harris
The sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system	Dr Russ Harris
Dropping anchor practice	Stanford Health
Leaves in a stream	Dr Jennifer Andrews
How mindfulness works to overcome painful emotions	Professor Steve Hayes, Founder of ACT

Acknowledgements

I gratefully acknowledge

• Dr Russ Harris, author of multiple books and textbooks on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, for his excellent courses educating health professionals in the use of ACT across the range of mental health challenges which I've attended, including his work on Trauma-focused Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I've also benefited from various training courses with international ACT educators since 2016, and have continued to develop new adaptations of ACT into the latest editions of The Possums Sleep Program, including in response to health professional and parent feedback.

• Professor Paul Gilbert, for his pioneering work and research developing Compassion-focussed Therapy.

• Associate Professor Kristen Nef, author of Fierce Self-compassion, for her work and research pioneering self-compassion.

Selected references: Acceptance and Commitment Therapy in the perinatal period

Bonacquisiti A, Cohen M, Schiller CE. Acceptance and commitment therapy for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: development of an inpatient group intervention. Archives of Womens Mental Health. 2017;20:645-654.

Cordova JV, Mansfield AK. A behavioral perspective on adult attachment style, intimacy, and relationship health. In: Woods DW, Kanter JW, editors. Understanding behavior disorders: a contemorary behavioral perspective. Oakland CA: New Harbinger Publications; 2007.

Gloster AT, Walder N, Levin MP, Twohig MP, Karekla M. The empirical status of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy: a review of meta-analyses. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science. 2020.

Hall HG, Beattie J, Lau R, East C, Anne Biro M. Mindfulness and perinatal mental health: a systematic review. Women and Birth. 2016;29(1):62-71.

Hayes SC, Hofmann SG, Ciarrhochi J. A process-based approach to psychological diagnosis and treatment - the conceptual and treatment utility of an extended evolutionary meta model. Clinical Psychology Review. 2020.

Hajure M, Seyife AS, Abdu Z. Resilience and mental health among perinatal women: a systematic review. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2024;15:1373083. doi: 1373010.1373389/fpsyt.1372024.1373083.

Howard S, Houghton G, White R, Fallon A, Slade P. The feasibility and acceptability of a single-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) intervention to support women self-reporting fear of childbirth in a first pregnancy. Psychological Health. 2023;38(11):1460-1481.

Leng LL, Yin XC, Ng SM. Mindfulness-based intervention for clinical and subthreshold perinatal depression and anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Comprehensive Psychiatry. 2023;122:152375.

Moulds ML, Black MJ, Newby JM, Hirsch CR. Correlates of repetitive negative thinking in postnatal first time mothers. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. 2021;Jul 14:1-12.

Perciavalle V, Blandini M, Fecarotta P. The role of deep breathing on stress. Neurological Sciences. 2017;38:451-458.

Simon N, Cunningham E, Samuel V, Waters CS. Videoconference-delivered group Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: facilitators views and recommendations. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology. 2023;Feb 21:doi: 10.1080/02646838.02642023.02180143.

Waters CS, Annear B, Flockhart G, Jones I, Simmonds JR, Smith S, et al. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders: a feasibility and proof of concept study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology. 2020;59:461-479.

Whittingham K, Douglas PS. "Possums": building contextual behavioural science into an innovative evidence-based approach to parenting support in early life. In: Kirkaldy B, editor. Psychotherapy in parenthood and beyond. Turin, Italy: Edizioni Minerva Medica; 2016. p. 43-56.

Selected references: self-compassion in the perinatal period

Carona C, Xavier S, Canavarro MC, Fonseca A. Self-compassion and complete perintal mental health in women at high risk for postpartum depression: the mediating role of emotion regulation difficulties. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice. 2022;95:561-574.

Cree, M. The compassionate mind approach to postnatal depression: using Compassion-Focused Therapy to enhance mood, confidence and bonding. London: Robinson (2015).

Fernandes DV, Canavarro MC, Moreira H. The role of mothers' self-compassion on mother-infant bonding during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study exploring the mediating role of mindful parenting and parenting stress in the postpartum period. Infant Mental Health Journal. 2021;42:621-635.

Gerhardt BC, Serra JG, Zimmer C, Arteche AX. Role of self-criticism in postpartum mental health: a network analysis. Psicologia: Reflexaeo e Critica. 2024;37(38):https://doi.org/10.1186/s41155-41024-00321-41152.

Griffiths M, Virgin J. Compassion workshops: bumps, babies and beyond. CBT Today. 2023;51:30-31.

Millard LA, Wittkowski A. Compassion focused therapy for women in the perinatal period: a summary of the current literature. Frontiers in Psychiatry. 2023;14(1288797):doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1288797.

Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T, Armendola S, Hengartner MP, Horowitz MA. The serotonin theory of depression: a systematic umbrella review of the evidence. Molecular Psychiatry. 2022;28:3243-3256.

Moncrieff J, Cooper RE, Stockmann T. Correspondence: The serotonin hypothesis of depression: both long discarded and still supported? Molecular Psychiatry. 2023;28:3160-3163.

Monteiro F, Fonsesca A, Pereira M, Alves S, Canavarro MC. What protects at-risk postpartum women from developing depressive and anxiety symptoms? The role of acceptance-focussed processes and self-compassion. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2019;246:522-529.

Warren R, Smeets E, Neff KD. Self-criticism and self-compassion: risk and resilience for psychopathology. Current Psychiatry. 2016;15(12):18-32.