Who We Are
A Parent’s Touch provides Perth families with a mobile, high-quality, cue-based infant massage service with the vision that every parent and infant will develop a long-lasting relationship that is loving, healthy and secure.
Get in touch with us now using the button below, or scroll down to read more about
A Parent’s Touch and your local instructor, Denise Jackson.
Our Story...
Denise Jackson is the founder of A Parent’s Touch.
The following is a summary of her journey in establishing A Parent’s Touch.
“As a young child, I was fascinated about human behaviour. I grew up with a parent who suffered from various mental health issues. I wanted to discover more about taking care of one-self and how to empower and inspire others to achieve optimal health and wellbeing.
My curiosity led me to pursue a career in health promotion. Having completed my degree, I worked in many different areas and sectors in health, but something within was nudging me towards mental health and working with babies …”
Whilst working as a Health Promotion Officer, I came across several research articles on infant mental health and infant massage. The more I immersed myself and read about parent-infant relationship and the benefits of infant massage, I knew I was on to something big and exciting. I wanted to promote infant mental health and the development of parent-infant relationship in our community!
My work now focuses on supporting the parent, the baby and their relationship in the early years of life. I assist parents to develop a strong bond and healthy relationship with their babies through nurturing touch and communication. As you are probably aware, your baby explores their external world through their senses. Touch is the first sense to be developed in utero and is the first language that babies can understand. So what better way to develop a bond between infant and parent than through nurturing touch!
Infant massage is a natural, gentle and nurturing way to allow babies to transition from life inside the womb to their new life with their parents. Nurturing touch through massage helps babies feel loved, respected and secure. These are the virtues and values that help children to thrive and follow their dreams and goals in life.
A Parent's Touch Core Values
At A Parent’s Touch, we:
Respect that each parent and infant is unique.
Accept that an individual’s needs can be different.
Provide a relaxed and friendly environment for parents and infants.
Provide quality and well prepared sessions.
Communicate clearly and listen with empathy to parent and infant concerns.
Combines professionalism with sensitivity and flexibility.
Engage in self-evaluation to provide high quality service to families.
Link parents and infants to appropriate health and other services in the community.
Collaborate with colleagues and other health professionals.
Meet Your Certified Infant Massage Instructor (CIMI):
Denise Jackson is the founder of A Parent’s Touch. She is a professional member of the International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM) and registered with the UK Chapter. She is delighted to offer the 5-week infant massage program to families across Perth.
Health Promotion
expertise.
Denise completed her Bachelor of Science Health Promotion qualification from Curtin University of Technology in 2002. She has worked in public health, health promotion and the disability sectors.
Denise’s experience includes planning, delivering and evaluating health programs within the Perth metropolitan area. She also worked in the disability sector supporting people with disabilities and helping their families access relevant supports and services within the community.
Professional facilitator with respect for parents and infants.
Denise combines professionalism with sensitivity and flexibility. She is able to modify and adjust sessions to meet the needs of parents and infants.
Denise provides a relaxed and friendly atmosphere for parents and infants to enjoy and have fun together and respects that each parent and infant is unique. She is respectful of each parent’s skills, values, attitudes and parenting choices.
Empowering parents with support and research.
Denise is passionate about providing parents with the support they need to empower them in their role as parents. Her sessions encourage parents to develop their own parenting intuition and also the confidence within themselves to connect with their babies.
Denise keeps up-to-date with the latest research and information on infant massage and health promotion issues via participation in workshops, webinars and
network meetings.
Simple, clearly communicated directions and self-evaluation.
Denise’s sessions are well prepared, interactive and stimulating. She provides handouts and other materials for parents and uses visual aids and diagrams to explain and clarify strokes for parents to understand.
Denise uses self-evaluation processes throughout the program to ensure continual improvements to her teaching. She keeps her session content fresh, relevant and interesting for parents and babies.
Listens with empathy and shows care, openness and compassion.
Working with many diverse families in the community has enabled Denise to listen with a caring heart. By listening carefully and attentively to her clients, she is able to reflect, understand and acknowledge their concerns and issues.
Denise is also a compassionate and caring individual who has a welcoming attitude and a genuine interest in supporting families so they can achieve optimal health and wellbeing.
Linking parents with other community services.
Denise has over 15 years of experience working with government departments and other community health service providers.
She is very resourceful and is able to link and connect families with relevant health and community services.
Membership Of Professional Organisations
2003 - present: Australian Health Promotion Association
2014 - present: Professional Member of International Association of Infant Massage (IAIM)
2021 - present: Member of International Institute for Complementary Therapist (IICT)
