Patricia O'Rourke

Patricia O'Rourke

Adelaide Medical School

Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences

Eligible to supervise Masters and PhD (as Co-Supervisor) - email supervisor to discuss availability.

Dr Patricia O'Rourke is a child psychotherapist with special interest in Infant Mental Health, Child Protection and Reflective Supervision. She is a Senior Lecturer in the Paediatric Mental Health Training Unit and a member of the Critical and Ethical Mental Health (CEMH) research group within the Robinson Research Institute.

Project Description 

The Maternal Looking Guide (MLG)

The MLG is a clinical tool with demonstrated reliability (O’Rourke et al. 2021) that can be used for early assessment and decision-making about the mother-infant relationship. By identifying those dyads who will benefit from immediate increased support, the MLG assists midwives and other perinatal professionals to sensitively respond at this critical developmental juncture for baby and mother.

The MLG aims to identify and address a real-world problem – that mothers and babies can miss one another when they first meet in that precious time post birth. A mounting body of evidence (Moore et al. 2017) shows that experiences in the first 1000 days, from conception until the end of the second year, impact all aspects of development and functioning over the life course – physical health and wellbeing, mental health, social functioning and cognitive development. The relational environment of the baby is a critical factor.

Identification of possible relational difficulties in the perinatal period increases the likelihood of early support being provided to the mother-infant relationship and assists organisations to allocate scarce resources to those who most need them. The MLG translates the well-established knowledge of the importance of gaze in early relationship into evidence-based behaviours, validates what to date has been clinical intuition, and enables appropriate intervention.

The MLG and an accompanying training package has been evaluated in three international sites.

Current Project 1: 

Title: Use of the Maternal Looking Guide (MLG) and the Newborn Behavioural Observations System (NBO) in Child Health Nurses' (CHN) practice and the impact on early maternal-infant relationship.

This research proposes to use current services provided by Child Health Nurses (CHNs) in SA to test whether education in and use of the MLG changes practice by CHNs. The aim is to assist CHNs to further understand the early mother-infant relationship, describe it and make referrals to services to support the relationship. The project will evaluate whether training in the use of the MLG influences clinical practice among CHNs with a focus on the early identification of infants at risk of social withdrawal and on promoting caregiver responsiveness during the critical early months of life.

Current Project 2:

Title: The Maternal Looking Guide (MLG): Introducing the Mother-Newborn Interaction Assessment Tool to the Ghanaian Healthcare System 

The aim of this project is to introduce the MLG to the Ghanaian healthcare setting. A Ghanaian version of the MLG together with a user guide to assist new users has been created and acceptance testing completed in a hospital in Ghana. More than 85% of the 38 clinicians (27 midwives & 11 other perinatal professionals) found the prototype concise with a helpful amount of detail and considered it would be useful in their practice. They reported that the MLG prototype’s user guide supported their discussion, was user-friendly, patient-centered and provided a helpful structure to frame the conversation. They also recommended it to be introduced to other healthcare facilities. 

Next steps include further refinement of the MLG prototype and user guide, some translation into Ghanaian local languages, exploring the feasibility of scale-up and conducting a small-scale trial with clinicians in a specific region of Ghana. 

Future Project:

The aim of this project is to design and implement an evaluation of the MLG at a regional level with special attention to take-up, adherence and fidelity, and understanding the barriers to and enablers of any rollout in order to identify markers for improvement.

There is no scholarship attached to the project. 

Projects available for: HDR / Masters / Mphil

Research project start: Semester 1 and 2

Special requirements: Police Clearance

  • Appointments
    Date Position Institution name
    2019 - ongoing Senior Lecturer University of Adelaide
    2018 - ongoing Consultant Infant Mental Health Specialist / Reflective Practice Trainer Child and Family Health Service, Women's and Children's Health Network
    2002 - 2021 Consultant Child Psychotherapist Women's and Children's Hospital

  • Education
    Date Institution name Country Title
    2010 - 2017 University of Adelaide Australia PhD
    1989 - 1991 Massey University New Zealand Masters of Guidance and Counselling
    1971 - 1973 Victoria University of Wellington New Zealand Bachelor of Arts

  • Postgraduate Training
    Date Title Institution Country
    Graduate Diploma Infant Mental Health New South Wales Institute of Psychiatry Australia
    Diploma in Teaching Karori Teacher Training College New Zealand

  • Certifications
    Date Title Institution name Country
    2016 Educator Australia and New Zealand Psychodrama Association Inc., -
    2006 Psychodramatist Australia and New Zealand Psychodrama Association Inc. -
    1975 Trained Teacher Certificate Karori Teachers College New Zealand

  • Research Interests
    Midwifery Paediatrics Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine Early Origins of Health Pregnancy and Birth Translational Health Outcomes

  • Journals
    Year Citation
    2022 O'Rourke, P., Jureidini, J., & BenTovim, D. (2022). The development of the Maternal Looking Guide: a perinatal clinical tool to understand and support the emerging mother-infant relationship. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology.
    2021 O’Rourke, P., Jureidini, J., & Ben-Tovim, D. (2021). The Maternal Looking Guide: a perinatal clinical tool to support the emerging mother-infant relationship’. Journal of Reproductive and Infant Psychology, 41(3), 1-18.
    DOI
    2020 O'Rourke, P. (2020). Working therapeutically with infants in the child protection system: Reflections.. WAIMH Perspectives in Infant Mental Health, 28(2), 7-13.
    2011 O'Rourke, P. (2011). The significance of reflective supervision for infant mental health work. Infant Mental Health Journal, 32(2), 165-173.
    DOI Scopus37

  • Book Chapters
    Year Citation
    2017 O'Rourke, P., Kaufman, J. C., Feist, G. J., & Reiter-Palmon, R. (2017). Creativity and personality research: Themes and future directions. In G. J. Feist, R. Reiter-Palmon, & J. C. Kaufman (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Creativity and Personality Research (pp. 405-413). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
    DOI

  • Current Higher Degree by Research Supervision (University of Adelaide)
    Date Role Research Topic Program Degree Type Student Load Student Name
    2025 Co-Supervisor Evaluating the impact of relational assessment tools and intervention on Child Health Nurse's (CHN) practice. The mother-infant relationship provides a foundational context for infant development, inclusive of mental health. Doctor of Philosophy Doctorate Part Time Ms Valerie Myral Aylesbury

  • Consulting/Advisories
    Date Institution Department Organisation Type Country
    2019 - 2021 Women's and Children's Health Network Child and familiy Health Service Health services and related Australia

  • Editorial Boards
    Date Role Editorial Board Name Institution Country
    2019 - ongoing Associate Editor Perspectives in Infant Mental Health World Association of Infant Mental Health Finland

  • Offices Held
    Date Office Name Institution Country
    2021 - ongoing Trainer Psychodrama Australia Brisbane Campus Australia
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