Possums Education New Zealand Workshops Gaps & Controversies/Acceptance & Commitment Therapy

Dr Pamela Douglas is a GP and researcher who has been practicing breastfeeding medicine since she first qualified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 1994. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine and Associate Professor Adjunct with the School of Medicine, Griffith University, with about 30 peer-reviewed research publications. Using the principles of implementation science, Pam has translated extensive interdisciplinary evidence into development of the Possums (or Neuroprotective Developmental Care) programs. They include The Possums Baby and Toddler Sleep Program (from 2011); the Possums 5-domain approach to infant cry-fuss problems (from 2011); NDC Masterclasses and Accreditation (from 2018); and the Lactation Fellowship (from 2025). She is also author of The Discontented Little Baby Book, available in English, Dutch, and Italian.

Renee is a Registered Nurse and Lactation Consultant with fifteen years experience working in Neonatal Intensive Care units in Sydney, Canberra and Darwin. She completed a Graduate certificate in neonatal intensive care nursing in 2004, and qualified as an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant in 2010. Renee offers holistic care not just for breastfeeding problems, but also for problems of unsettled infant behavior, feeds and sleep throughout the first year of life. 

Anya is an endorsed Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner specializing in perinatal mental health. Formerly in private practice in the U.S., she focused on treating birth trauma, perinatal loss and postnatal mood and anxiety disorders. She is Possums certified, and especially compelled by Acceptance and Commitment Therapy’s capacity for healing and empowering new parents facing mental health challenges.

Koa is a clinical and developmental psychologist and an NHMRC research fellow at The University of Queensland. She has a substantial track record spanning three key research interests: parenting, neurodevelopmental disability and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). She is particularly passionate about the application of ACT to parenting.

Dr Whittingham is author of Becoming Mum, a self-help book for the psychological transition to motherhood grounded in ACT. She is a co- founder of Possums Education, and is responsible for the integration of ACT into the Possums approach.