From Pregnancy to Postpartum: A Therapist's Guide to Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders

Description

Maternal mental health disorders are common, affecting approximately 1 in 5 people who give birth. Despite this prevalence, most cases go undiagnosed and untreated. Therapists across disciplines are uniquely positioned to identify clients suffering from these disorders and respond appropriately and in a timely manner.

For clinicians seeking to build their foundational knowledge of perinatal mental health, this training is geared toward any clinician wanting to increase their understanding of the perinatal period - the timeframe throughout pregnancy and postpartum - and the unique considerations that challenge clients’ mental health during this transitional period.

Dr. Rachel Diamond, LMFT, PMH-C brings years of specialized experience in perinatal mental health to this training. In her clinical practice, she focuses on working with individuals and couples navigating the challenges of transitioning to parenthood. Her clinical experience combined with her background as a university professor and published researcher informs an approach grounded in evidence-based clinical practice.

Rather than treating pregnancy and postpartum as simply another clinical context, this training considers how the perinatal period can shape the presentation, assessment, and conceptualization of mental health concerns. Participants will be guided through clinical examples to have opportunities to apply course concepts, with attention to screening and referral resources specific to pregnant and postpartum clients.

The training covers the perinatal period and its unique clinical considerations, including the distinction between normative adjustment and clinically significant mental health concerns. Participants will learn to recognize common perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs), including depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychosis. Special attention will be given to prevalence, risk factors, and the unique clinical presentation during the perinatal period to aid in participants' ability to identify and differentiate between disorders. This training will additionally explore tailored conceptual frameworks for clinical conceptualization, assessment, and the overall support of clinical care. Finally, participants will be introduced to perinatal-specific screening tools and resources to aid in their clinical work with pregnant and postpartum clients.

Key Takeaways:

• Clinical discernment: Recognize the unique constraints and mental health considerations associated with pregnancy and postpartum.
• Differential Diagnosis: Distinguish normative adjustment from clinically significant concerns and differentiate among PMADs.
• Clinical practice: Apply perinatal conceptual frameworks and identify appropriate screening, referral, and resource options.

Why This Course?

• Practical Relevance: Understanding the unique contextual considerations of the perinatal period can help clinicians more accurately recognize and respond to maternal mental health concerns.
• Specialized expertise: This training is led by an expert in perinatal mental health whose credentials, research, and teaching experience bring both authority and clinical depth to a highly nuanced topic.
• Aligned with quality care: Offered by Telehealth Certification Institute, an organization committed to excellence, integrity, innovation, and collaboration, this webinar is designed to equip helping professionals with meaningful continuing education that supports high-quality, ethical behavioral health care.

Learning Objectives

• Identify unique constraints and considerations for pregnant and postpartum clients.
• Differentiate between normative adjustments during pregnancy and postpartum from clinically significant mental health concerns.
• Differentiate between the range of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) that present throughout pregnancy and postpartum.
• Apply conceptual frameworks tailored to working with perinatal clients to effectively identify and organize relevant clinical information with pregnant and postpartum clients.
• Describe screening, referral, and resource options for pregnant and postpartum clients.

When clinicians understand the unique contextual considerations for the perinatal period, they are better equipped to recognize concerns that might otherwise be overlooked or misunderstood. This training offers an opportunity to strengthen your clinical foundation for working with pregnant and postpartum clients.

Format and Access

This is a non-interactive, self-study course that offers over 4 hours of recorded video instruction, a post-test and a course evaluation.

Course Details

Availability: 

From the time of registration, you have six months to access the coursework.

Who Should Attend: 

This course is intended for clinicians who provide behavioral health services.

Teaching Methods: 

This is a non-interactive, self-study course. Teaching methods for this course include recorded lectures, videos, a post-test, and a course evaluation.

How to Attend: 

Course access and completion instructions.

Instructor and Disclosures

Instructor

About Rachel Diamond, Ph.D., LMFT, PMH-C

Dr. Rachel Diamond is a licensed marriage and family therapist (LMFT) and certified in perinatal mental health (PMH-C) through Postpartum Support International. She maintains a private practice in Chicago, Rachel Diamond, PLLC, where she primarily works with individuals and couples presenting with issues related to pregnancy and adjusting to new parenthood. She is trained in EMDR specifically for the perinatal population and utilizes this in her treatment of reproductive traumas. Additionally, as a former university professor, Dr. Diamond is also a well-published researcher. The focus of her research and scholarship is on relational and perinatal mental health with special attention to empirically-based practical applications for clinicians. You can find her writings in journals such as Women and Birth, Family Process, and Contemporary Family Therapy, as well as popular media such as The Conversation and her Psychology Today blog “Preparing for Parenthood”.

Disclosure Statement: 

The instructor(s) for this course receive compensation for their services. There are no reported conflicts of interest to disclose.

CE Hours

Credit Hours:

This course consists of 4 continuing education hours of credit.

Counselors:

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No, 6693.  Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified.  Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Mental Health Counselors. #MHC-0048.

Marriage and Family Therapists: 

Many MFT licensing boards accept our courses or one of the approvals which we have from professional associations.  You can check with your board to determine if your licensing board would accept this course.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed marriage and family therapists #MFT-0135, effective May 8, 2025.

Social Workers:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC, #1609, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 05/02/2024 – 05/02/2027. Social workers completing this course receive 4 clinical continuing education credits.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Social Workers #SW-0435.

Psychologists:

Telehealth Certification Institute LLC is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. Telehealth Certification Institute LLC maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department’s State Board for Psychology as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Psychologists #PSY-0128.

Art Therapists: 

Telehealth Certification Institute, LLC is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for Licensed Creative Arts Therapists #CAT-0093.

Other Professionals:

This course qualifies for 240 minutes of instructional content as required by many national, state and local licensing boards and professional organizations.  Retain your certificate of completion and contact your board or organization for specific filing requirements.

This is a non-interactive, self-study course.

Accommodations and Policies

Close Captioning is available for live webinars and recorded video presentations.

You can click on the following links to view our policies:

• Accommodations for Individuals with Disabilities.
• Cancellation Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Support Options
• Disclosure Statement