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 personal experience into a passion for helping other mums in the same situation.
“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 also counsel others.
The therapist and childbirth educator grew up as the daughter of a Salvation Army preacher, attending 13 schools in 15 years.
She has experienced two traumatic births and adrenal fatigue. All four of her daughters have been diagnosed with autism and three with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Her husband has a degenerative neurological disease.
Rather than feeling sorry for herself, Philippa has spent the past 20 years learning how to be the best mum she can be and helping others do the same.
She has won numerous awards for her businesses, including Fantastic Futures and The Mother Awakening: a movement helping women heal the root causes behind stress and reactive parenting. She has also written Finding Your Tribe: From Isolation to Connection.
Now, Philippa has launched Mum Wise: a digital platform providing judgment-free parenting support 24 hours a day.
Mum Wise works through a link that users can save to their phone’s home screen, with no app download required.
“No downloads, no faffing about. It’s just there. Ask it anything,” Philippa says.
“The question may be something like: ‘My four-year-old has a meltdown every time I drop him at daycare 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 draw on Philippa’s podcasts, courses, blogs and other work.
“There are millions of words in there – all my podcasts, my courses, my blogs. All those pieces inform the responses that mums receive,” she says.
“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 says Mum Wise differs from generic artificial intelligence tools because it is based on her relationship-focused, nervous system-friendly, neurodivergent-friendly and trauma-informed approach.
She says many mums are struggling with isolation, while social media can add to the pressure to appear as though everything is perfect: “My clients often say to me, ‘It’s so refreshing to talk to you because your life is often overflowing and messy, too’.”
For Philippa, that honesty is at the heart of her work, combining her professional experience with the reality of being a mum, wife and grandmother.
Visit mumwise.com.au
