About ITSIEY

International Training School for Infancy and Early Years (ITSIEY) – combines the  knowledge and expertise of three internationally renowned Centres of Excellence:  The Anna Freud National Centre for Children and Families, The Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and Yale University Child Study Centre to provide mental health professionals with expert-agreed standards of knowledge and skills to work confidently with infants (0-3) and their parents.

ITSIEY provides CPD training for all professionals working with infants and their parents.  ITSIEY CPD courses teach skills based on evidence-based practise, including mentalisation-based treatment and draw on scientific research in neuroscience and attachment.  Psychoanalytic thinking is at the heart of ITSIEY CPD courses and can enhance participants’ understanding of parent infant dynamics.

ITSIEY courses also focus on infants in the context of their family, wider community and environment.  ITSIEY recognises the importance of ensuring that our course content addresses the needs of infants from diverse communities.  We are committed to being part of a global change, which respects and celebrates difference and maximises life opportunities for infants from all communities.

ITSIEY is the winner of 2017 Maternal Mental Health Alliance Emma Cadywould Award for Perinatal Mental Health Education and Training, see our news story here.

ITSIEY was set up in 2011 and students’ feedback has been consistently high:

‘The tutor has managed to present a thinking space and exploration of a challenging and richly layered subject material, which is equally sensitively and robustly handled. It really is a must do for all professionals working in this field.’

'The seminars were extremely informative and the seminar leaders were all very different but hugely passionate about their respective fields. The course challenged me both intellectually and emotionally. On a number of occasions I was moved to tears, but felt I was in a safe space! The material was evocative at times. I feel that the course has now caused me to think about my practice and the way I think and sit with my patients.'

'It was a pleasurable and thought provoking experience. Lovely to meet people from all over the world. I felt it was a very positive learning environment and I was able to take in lots of new ideas. Thank you.'

Our training modules are suitable CPD’s for professionals working in the fields of infant and perinatal mental health e.g. nursery nurses, OT’s, health visitors, perinatal nurses, creative therapists, psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists.