The Icelandic Mental Health Association, Geðverndarfélag Íslands, have built on their long-standing partnership with Solihull Approach to fund free access to the online learning platform www.inourplace.co.uk.

A new, funded ‘multi-user-licence’ launched this week provides all residents of the country access to a suite of learning courses on childhood development, emotional wellbeing and parenting.  

Dr Hazel Douglas MBE will launch the licence today, Thursday 17th October, at the Solihull Approach conference hosted in Reykjavik. The event will bring together practitioners across the Icelandic Mental Health Association’s network of professionals, psychiatrists, mental health nurses, social workers, and educators to celebrate and build on the impact of the Solihull Approach in the country.  

The online learning platform www.inourplace.co.uk is accessible online anytime, anywhere, enabling private learning that is personalised for you. Residents of Iceland will use the unique access code ESJA to unlock more than 15 online courses for free. The learning offer includes emotional health learning throughout parenting (from antenatal to teenage years), as well as adult emotional wellbeing and education for teenagers on adolescent brain development.  

Kjartan Valgarosson, Chief Executive Officer at the Icelandic Mental Health Association, said: “Our organisation is proud to bring this unique learning space to everyone in Iceland. It builds on our history of pioneering mental health support in Iceland and our commitment to raising emotional health across the country and ensuring equal access for everyone. We know of the impact of the Solihull Approach and have seen it transform our practice, having invested in workforce training over many years. It is fantastic to now make this knowledge accessible to everyone in the country, in particular to parents who are, for many of our young people, the post important relationships shaping their emotional health.” 

Dr Hazel Douglas MBE, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Child Psychotherapist, and Director of the Solihull Approach, said: “It is an honour to be invited to join the conference in Iceland this week and to learn about the impact of the Solihull Approach for families around the country. Raising the emotional health of the population remains our priority and we are delighted to work with the Association to make access to online learning available to everyone. By understanding our emotional wellbeing, our relationships and how to care for them, we can support kinder, more empathetic interactions that will support a healthier, happier lifetime.”