Philippa Scott knows what it’s like to be at rock bottom. To be a new mum feeling overwhelmed, alone and desperate for support. She’s turned that intensely emotional and personal experience into a passion for helping other mums in the same situation. And she’s loving it.
“It’s where my heart sits,” she says.
Instead of ignoring the difficult situations that have dogged her throughout her life, Philippa has leaned into them, learning strategies to not only cope but counsel others.
Philippa has certainly faced many challenges. She grew up as the daughter of a Salvation Army preacher, subsequently attending 13 schools in 15 years, had two traumatic birth experiences and ended up with adrenal fatigue.
All four of her daughters have been diagnosed with autism and three have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). In addition, her husband has a degenerative neurological disease.
It would have been easy to feel sorry for herself. Instead, Philippa has devoted the past 20 years of her life to learning how to be the best mum she can be and helping others.
Philippa, a therapist and childbirth educator, has won many awards for her innovative businesses, including Fantastic Futures and The Mother Awakening, a movement helping women to heal the root causes behind stress and reactive parenting.
She has also written a book, Finding Your Tribe: From Isolation to Connection.
Now, she has launched a new digital platform, Mum Wise, an easy-to-access, affordable tool which provides judgement-free support 24 hours a day.
Believed to be the first of its kind in Australia, it’s currently available at the special introductory price of $9 per month.
“I’m the mother of a daughter who had her baby when she was 20. She’s a single mum and I wanted to make it affordable for people like her,” Philippa tells salt.
So how does it work?
“When you join Mum Wise, you’ll get a link straight away, you can save it to your home screen, and from then on it sits there just like any other app on your phone,” Philippa explains.
“No downloads, no faffing about. It’s just there. Ask it anything.
“The question may be something like, ‘My four-year-old has a meltdown every time I drop him at day care, and I don’t know how to respond’. Or it could be, ‘I feel like I’m losing my 15-year-old daughter, and I don’t know how to make sure we have a solid relationship’. Within 10 to 30 seconds, you’ll receive an answer.”
The responses are drawn from all of Philippa’s work over the years. “There are millions of words in there – all my podcasts, my courses, my blogs – all those pieces inform the responses that mums receive.
“I thought very carefully about the experience I want someone to have when they use it, so the safety and the parameters are well thought out.”
Philippa developed the technology after many weeks of sitting in front of her computer, teaching herself how to code.
“I did reach out to a tech guy at the end to finalise a few pieces and I have a team that helps now. It’s programmed on all my work, which I keep updating,” she says.
She points out that Mum Wise is different to the automated responses one would get from ChatGPT.
“Parents today have more information than they ever had, but they’re still less sure about what to do. Much of that information is conflicting, so it takes time, effort and energy to synthesise.
“With ChatGPT they are getting a synthesis of generic information, but it’s not necessarily aligned to them. With Mum Wise, they know my work is all relationship-based, nervous system-friendly, neurodivergent-friendly and trauma-informed.”
Philippa explains that her responses also provide a deeper understanding about what may be happening. “I provide advice on how to make relationships better, plus give them some tools on how to do it. When mums have been using Mum Wise for a while, they tend to find they have the opportunity for more self-reflection.”
She is encouraged by the feedback she has received from her existing members.
“Women say they feel seen and supported and there’s no judgement because when Mum Wise responds to you, it’s just me and it’s nurturing and loving.”
She says many mums are feeling overwhelmed and alone. “A couple of hundred years ago, women relied on each other. Most people now don’t even know their neighbours, let alone have a relationship with them, and they feel really isolated.”
There’s also a biological reason why mums often feel helpless. “We know that during the time of transitioning from maiden [woman] to becoming a mother, our wiring changes and we go from being quite individual to biologically needing other women. The research backs this up – your brain physically changes. Women are craving that connection, but they don’t have it facilitated.”
The plethora of social media can also make mums feel like they are failing, Philippa says.
“Everyone thinks they can see what is going on in someone else’s house, but you come into my house today and this is what it looks like after my granddaughter has been to visit and I’m packing for a trip.
“This is reality. You don’t see that on Instagram or Facebook.
“My clients often say to me, ‘It’s so refreshing to talk to you because your life is often overflowing and messy too’. In that messiness, is the beauty and sometimes, the opportunity to get some extra perspective and normalise the bits that you don’t want to share with anyone else.”
There is no denying that Philippa exudes an honesty and vulnerability that is touching.
Yes, she is a certified doula, a childbirth educator, perinatal therapist, family coach and The Richards Trauma Process (TRTP) practitioner.
But she’s also a proud mum, wife and grandmother whose eyes fill with happy tears when I ask about her three-year-old granddaughter.
* please note the printed version contained text errors.