Mom and Mind | Pregnancy and Postpartum Depression & Anxiety

Latest Episodes:

386: Behind the Sessions: Acknowledging End-of-the-Year Mental Fatigue with Dr. Kat Dec 26, 2024

Show notes

Here in the last week of the year, we are wrapping up 2024 and another holiday season. Are you an exhausted mom? You’re not alone! It’s been a busy holiday season complete with all the pressure to be happy, do ALL the things, and present the picture of perfection. Your holidays might have been ugly and imperfect, and now you’re faced with the pressure of a new year and new resolutions to improve yourself and your life. Let’s check in with ourselves in today’s episode.

Show Highlights:

What is YOUR truth right now?
Reflection can bring up a mixed bag of feelings and emotions—and that’s ok!
Take the space and time to acknowledge the sad, angry, depressed, and darker parts of your year.
Don’t make yourself unwell by suppressing your feelings!
Meditate—and listen to yourself—even if only for five minutes.
Achievement doesn’t always have to be the next thing on your list.

Resources:

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

Please find resources in English and Spanish at Postpartum Support International, or by phone/text at 1-800-944-4773. There are many free resources, like online support groups, peer mentors, a specialist provider directory, and perinatal mental health training for therapists, physicians, nurses, doulas, and anyone who wants to be more supportive in offering services.

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

385: Empowering Perinatal Care: Redefining Access to Therapy with Amy Lynn Green, LCSW, PMH-C, MH-E, ERYT, Mamaya Health Dec 23, 2024

Show notes

Today’s guest is pioneering sweeping innovations in access to maternal and perinatal mental health care, changing the face of care for many women and families. The truth is that too many people are falling through the cracks in our US healthcare system, especially in the perinatal period. Join us to learn what Mamaya Health is doing to help revamp the system!

Amy Green is the founder and CEO of Mamaya Health and the Nashville Collaborative Counseling Center. Over the last ten years, Amy has served as a clinical social worker, adjunct professor, nonprofit founder, and entrepreneur. Through her experience with pregnancy loss and a deep passion for creating access to care, Amy founded the NCCC in 2019 to change the landscape of mental health care available to those navigating pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, and loss. Mamaya Health was founded in 2023 as a subsidiary of NCCC to support the next stage of scale and growth of maternal mental health care. Amy is proud to be part of the EY Winning Women of North America 2023 Cohort and a recipient of the Nashville Emerging Entrepreneurs of 2022 Award from the Nashville Business Journal. She received her MSW from the University of Buffalo with a concentration in trauma-informed care and human rights, a certification from the University of Massachusetts in Integrated Care Management, and a certification in maternal mental health from Postpartum Support International. Amy lives in Nashville, TN, with her partner, Isaac, and two daughters.

Show Highlights:

The current state of maternal mental health care and what the statistics show
Amy’s frustration with the way mental health care is provided
Getting a new model of integrative care where women need it
An overview of Amy’s company, Mamaya Health, and the work they do to make care accessible
Positioning treatment in the most affordable and accessible ways
Flexibility and ease of care matters most to women and mothers
Training other providers to show up for moms in supportive ways
Warning signs that maternal mental health care and support are needed
Handling holiday stress with check ins, better ways to deal with loss, and learning to ask for what we need
How Mamaya Health is changing the game in maternal mental health
The vision for Mamaya Health and what’s coming in the future

Resources:

Connect with Amy Green and Mamaya Health: Website, LinkedIn, and Facebook

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

384: Anti-Oppressive Counseling in Infant and Perinatal Mental Health with Meyleen Velasquez, DSW, LICSW, RPT-S, PMH-C Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

This episode covers an important topic geared toward therapists, perinatal mental health providers, and play therapists who want to have cultural humility with an anti-oppressive stance. You’ll learn what this means and how this viewpoint benefits the families affected by our work. Join us!

Meyleen Velasquez is an immigrant Latinx psychotherapist specializing in perinatal and infant mental health. She has a doctorate in social work and focused her research on anti-racist and anti-oppressive mental health services. Her practice supports birthing people and clinicians working from an anti-oppressive framework. Meyleen is a Brown woman living with vitiligo and is the author of What Therapists Need to Know About Perinatal and Early Relational Health: A Guide to Anti-Oppressive Counseling with Caregivers, Babies, and Young Children.

Meyleen sits on the board of the Alliance for the Advancement of Infant Mental Health and has served as the Chair for the Florida Chapter of Postpartum Support International and as the past president of the FL Association for Play Therapy. She enjoys training, speaking, and writing, and believes that the more we can support each other, the better for our communities.

Show Highlights:

Understanding the field of infant mental health
Spoiling your child vs. “toughening up” your child
The challenge in having healthy relationships
Anti-oppression and an Indigenous worldview of the past and present
Self-awareness, reflective consultations, and how we sit with clients
We need to break free of our system of being on autopilot through life.
Bigger, stronger, wiser, and kinder—even to ourselves
What Meyleen would love to see change in our culture of mental health care
The “Hollywood” perception of therapy is inaccurate.
Meyleen’s thoughts on who would benefit most from her book
A description of an anti-oppressive practitioner
The immense responsibility to do this work to help families

Resources:

Connect with Meyleen Velasquez: Website, YouTube, Instagram, and What Therapists Need to Know About Perinatal and Early Relational Health: A Guide to Anti-Oppressive Counseling with Caregivers, Babies, and Young Children

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

383: Behind the Sessions: The Emotional Process of Considering Medication with Dr. Kat Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

A common issue that comes up frequently in therapy is taking medication during the perinatal period. There is much debate and many conflicting emotions about this decision of whether or not to take medication. It’s a personal choice that each person has to make, but we need to understand the emotional process around this decision. Join me for a closer look!

Show Highlights:

Medication should be viewed as another tool in the toolkit.
Assessing symptoms that might indicate a need for medication
The role of a therapist is to be an objective onlooker.
The basic need to “get through” each day
The severity of symptoms doesn’t always align with the capacity to function.
Taking a sensible approach and a full-picture view
Dr. Kat’s process in suggesting medication to a patient
The wide range of responses to the suggestion of psychiatric medication: sadness, grief, disappointment, and defeat—-and SO much stigma!
The initial benefit of medication is feeling a weight lift off your shoulders so you can use coping skills and experience relief.
It’s okay to have medication questions, and other people’s opinions shouldn’t be the final say.
Dr. Kat’s words of encouragement about making this difficult decision

Resources:

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

382: Reframing Motherhood through a Feminist Lens with Erin Spahr, LCPC, LCMHC, PMH-C Dec 09, 2024

Show notes

In today’s episode, we discuss feminism, motherhood, and how to understand modern feminism, which may differ from how we’ve interpreted it in the past. Looking through a feminist lens can be supportive of moms and their partners. Join us!

My guest is Erin Spahr, a licensed therapist, mother, feminist, podcast host, and maternal mental health advocate based in Raleigh, NC. She uses a feminist lens in her work with mothers and strives to help them free themselves from oppressive societal expectations and find more confidence and self-compassion. She hosts The Feminist Mom Podcast, where she discusses the intersection of feminism and motherhood with inspiring guests. Erin created an inclusive provider directory that connects mothers, birthing individuals, and families in the US and Canada with perinatal providers who provide inclusivity and identity-affirming care.

Show Highlights:

Erin’s journey into her work with motherhood and feminism from a background in social justice and trauma work
Erin’s heightened awareness of injustices toward mothers during her perinatal experience
The truth vs. misconceptions about feminism
A focus on the needs of mothers that are unique (from Dr. Andrea O’Reilly’s work with matricentric feminism)
Arguments against feminism in today’s world
Societal impacts on motherhood
A two-day weekend is NOT working!
Shortcomings in the ways we are treating moms
The “fix”---through a feminist lens, looking at the individual, relationship, and collective levels
An explanation of our patriarchal systems in American society
What it means to be a cycle-breaker

Resources:

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Connect with Erin Spahr

Website, Instagram, and The Feminist Mom Podcast

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

381: Understanding and Navigating Your Maternity Rights in the US with Daphne Delvaux Dec 02, 2024

Show notes

I’m excited to welcome Daphne Delvaux, “The Mama Attorney,” to the show for today’s episode. She’s an award-winning trial attorney and the founder of Delvaux Law, the nation’s first and only law firm devoted to women’s rights at work. She created The Mama Attorney, a platform on a mission to educate mothers on their rights at work and teach them to advocate for their needs so they can protect their pregnancies. She helps women get more time with their kids, get more benefits, and ask for accommodations without sacrificing their career goals. Being raised by a single mom in Belgium gave Daphne a desire to advocate for and support mothers. She has been recognized as a leader of the women’s rights movement by news outlets across the globe, including ABC News, Huffington Post, the NY Times, the Wall Street Journal, and more.

She was awarded the Outstanding Trial Lawyer award for winning an equal pay trial, and she’s the mother of two boys. Her passion for women’s and mothers’ rights led her to champion women in a myriad of ways outside her law practice, and she is the founder of Chamber of Mothers, a collective movement to focus America’s priorities on mothers’ rights. Daphne also created a membership to her organization, The Liberated Mother Society, which helps moms understand and assert their rights in the workplace, including extended maternity leave benefits, more flexibility, more breaks, and protections. Her membership also includes attorney-drafted and trusted scripts to use in email communication with management and HR departments, and her book is set to come out in 2025.

Show Highlights:

Don’t assume that HR is there to help you!
The complexities of maternity law from state to state
The muddy waters of paid maternity leave in the US
Advocacy, HR, and your rights
Three rights during and after your pregnancy
Understanding leave and accommodations
What your employer is allowed to ask you—and not allowed to ask you
Your rights in returning to work after maternity leave
Daphne’s advice for small business owners who don’t have an HR department
How Daphne is filling the gap and meeting the needs of women in the workplace

Resources:

Connect with Daphne Delvaux: The Mama Attorney website, Instagram, Facebook, and The Liberated Mother Society

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

380: Behind the Sessions: Festive or Frantic? Coping Through the Holidays with Dr. Kat Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

There are seasonal themes that come up every year in therapy, and stress around the holidays is always a common issue. The joy of the season and family togetherness come with many challenges. Navigating the perinatal world adds complications to the mix of holiday stress, whether you’re pregnant, a new mom, or busy with older kids; there is a unique exhaustion to holiday parenting. Medical conditions, the pain of loss, and infertility struggles can compound holiday stress even further, and there can be immense pressure to put on a happy face and pretend that all is well. Let’s take a closer look in today’s episode!

Show Highlights:

Do what you need to do to care for yourself.
Challenges with mental health, physical well-being, relationships, and finances
Coping strategies; Start by setting limits and boundaries.
You can say NO.
It’s okay to simplify the holidays.
Asking for help is NOT a cop-out.
Let go of expectations of perfection.
My advice: Step back, take inventory, consider your capacity, and adjust. Be flexible with yourself.

Resources:

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

379: Understanding Postpartum Depression with Dr. Ewurama Sackey and Dr. Rachel Dalthorp Nov 25, 2024

Show notes

This episode offers multiple perspectives from two expert guests on the subject of postpartum depression. You’ll learn how to recognize the early signs and symptoms, how to understand maternal mental health disparities, and how untreated postpartum depression can have long-term generational consequences. Join us!

Dr. Rachel Dalthorp is a psychiatrist and the Executive Medical Director for LifeStance Health. Since 2014, she has focused on caring for women with hormone-related mood and anxiety disorders across the reproductive lifespan, with perinatal psychiatry comprising a large part of her work. In 2018, she worked with like-minded colleagues across the country to create a non-profit organization called ISRP to support advocacy, education, and collaboration in the field. She takes advantage of every opportunity to advocate for access to women-specific mental healthcare.

Born and raised in Toronto, Dr. Ewurana Sackey attended the University of Pennsylvania. After teaching high school in New Orleans and St. Louis, she returned to the University of Pennsylvania for medical school and general adult psychiatry residency. She completed her child and adolescent fellowship program at UCLA. Her clinical interests include reproductive psychiatry, perinatal psychiatry, maternal-infant mental health, and child/adolescent psychiatry. She has received numerous prestigious awards and completed courses in psychotherapy, psychopharmacology, and perinatal loss with Postpartum Support International.

Show Highlights:

The paths into the specialty of perinatal and reproductive psychiatry for Dr. Sackey and Dr. Dalthorp
The stigma women face—and how to decrease it with increased awareness
Early signs of a perinatal mental health disorder
Myths to dispel about postpartum depression
Disparities among women of color with perinatal mental health issues (Medical racism is a real thing!)
The importance of communities and safe spaces for moms
Information, education, and PMAD screenings
The basics of a treatment plan
“Baby blues,” depression, or severe PPD—how do you know?
A doctor’s perspective on prescribing medication for PPD
Generational impacts on kids and families when moms are untreated for PPD
Common comorbidities with PPD
The good news about PPD today
Key takeaways from Dr. Sackey and Dr. Dalthorp

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Rachel Dalthorp: Website and LinkedIn

Connect with Dr. Ewurana Sackey: Website, Facebook, Instagram, and X

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

378: Hormonal Shift Impacts on Women's Mental Health with Dr. Katrina Furey Nov 18, 2024

Show notes

I'm joined today by Dr. Katrina Furey, a board-certified adult psychiatrist in women’s mental health and reproductive psychiatry. We are diving into understanding how hormones impact mental health in the perinatal period and at other times in a woman’s life cycle. Join us to learn more!

Dr. Furey is a clinical instructor at the Yale University School of Medicine Department of Psychiatry and has Sound Psychiatry, a private practice in Guilford, Connecticut. She is a consultant for Connecticut’s Access Mental Health for Moms Hotline, offering psychiatric expertise and consultation to medical providers treating women for mental health or substance abuse issues. She also co-hosts the Analyze Scripts podcast, which analyzes the depiction of mental health in fictional TV shows and films. Dr. Furey just launched Repro Psych Academy, a comprehensive series of online courses designed to empower all healthcare providers to feel more confident in diagnosing and managing women’s mental health conditions related to hormonal shifts from menses to menopause.

Show Highlights:

Dr. Furey’s perspective on women’s mental health and reproductive psychiatry
Understanding the specialty of repro psych
Hormones, depression, and anxiety
How women are judged and dismissed for their “hormones” and what their bodies do
PMS, PMDD, and PNMH
Information about hormonal shift differences and birth control
Determining if a medication is best for you, what to try, and when to switch
Dr. Furey’s efforts to train more providers to help more women

Resources:

Connect with Dr. Katrina Furey: Sound Psychiatry, Analyze Scripts podcast, Repro Psych Academy, andInstagram

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

377: Behind the Sessions: Anger and Emotional Pain in Marriage with Dr. Kat Nov 14, 2024

Show notes

We are exploring a topic that pops up frequently in therapy sessions. Relationship issues are often an underlying factor of other challenges that prompt women to seek therapy. They are looking for problem-solving solutions to help with the pain they are experiencing in their relationships. Let’s take a closer look in today’s episode.

Show Highlights:

Gaslighting–a form of psychological manipulation that can have devastating effects on a relationship
Many clients desperately want their husbands/partners to seek therapy.
One-sided efforts by one partner can only go so far toward healing the relationship.
Movement forward in the relationship usually happens as a result of couples therapy.
How our conditioning sets us up with the perfect formula for a tension-filled marriage
Having kids changes EVERYTHING in a relationship!
Feeling isolated and alienated makes every problem seem magnified.
Healing CAN happen!

Resources:

Call the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline at 1-833-TLC-MAMA or visit cdph.ca.gov

You can also follow PSI on social media: Instagram, Facebook, and most other platforms

Visit www.postpartum.net/professionals/certificate-trainings/ for information on the grief course.

Visit my website, www.wellmindperinatal.com, for more information, resources, and courses you can take today!

If you are a California resident looking for a therapist in perinatal mental health, email me about openings for private pay clients!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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