Maternal Mental Health Training

“I liked the self-paced nature and the clean look. I also appreciated the multimodal learning and quizzes along the way to consolidate learning. Lastly, I really appreciated case examples." Jules, Grad Student & Training Graduate

“This was genuinely the most valuable training that I have taken, and I look forward to taking more in the future and to continuing my relationship with Seleni." Sara, Psychologist & Training Graduate

“The instructors provided information clearly, using evidence-based skills. Instructors integrated case examples, which were helpful to learning and enhanced understanding. All topics were relevant and applicable to my work." George, Social Worker & Training Graduate

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are among the most common pregnancy complications.They affect as many as 1 in 5 women – more than twice the number of women who develop gestational diabetes. Here are the facts:

• Up to 20% of women experience prenatal or postpartum depression, and postpartum anxiety affects 20% of first-time moms.
• 10-15% of women experience depression during pregnancy, but it often goes untreated.
• Women with infertility can feel as anxious or depressed as those diagnosed with cancer.
• Half of women experience significant distress following a miscarriage.
• Also, 1 in 4 pregnancies end in miscarriage, and 1 in 160 babies are stillborn.

Miscarriage and stillbirth are profound losses that are rarely talked about and little understood. Why? In our society, we have almost no understanding of how women and families who experience reproductive loss and child loss grieve and recover. Here are the facts:

• Miscarriage is a common occurrence (one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage). Stillbirth happens in 1 in 160 pregnancies.
• More than 80 percent of women who have a miscarriage feel anxious during subsequent pregnancies.
• One-third of women who suffer recurrent miscarriages will experience clinical depression.
• Child loss can severely impair family functioning.
• Women and their partners are often isolated in their grief and unsure of how to manage and move forward. One study found that parental bereavement was related to an 80% increase in suicide risk.
• Unresolved grief from reproductive loss and child loss puts women at high risk for experiencing complicated grief and is a significant risk factor for developing a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder (PMAD).

Have you ever seen a client post pregnancy and had difficulty determining whether they have the common baby blues or a diagnosable mental health disorder?

Do you feel less confident treating new mothers and those who are dealing with reproductive challenges such as IVF, adoption, and perinatal loss and want to become more skilled in these areas?

Are you interested in learning this and more from multidisciplinary experts in the field who specialize in these topics in their clinical practice and training?

As a mental health professional, it's very likely you'll treat clients who face one or more of these mental health challenges during their reproductive years and who need specialized treatment to cope and move forward successfully.

Most graduate programs do not offer training on how to treat these common disorders, or provide in-depth exploration of other topics (such as infertility and miscarriage) that deeply impact the emotional well-being of even more women and families. To address this need, we created our Maternal Mental Health Intensive which equips clinicians and counselors with critical, evidence-based tools to fully support clients through one of the most challenging times of their lives.

Our training is appropriate for psychologists, psychiatrists, psychoanalysts, social workers, nurses, mental health counselors, physicians, graduate students, marriage and family therapists, pastoral counselors, and midwives.

Our typical participant is an experienced clinician who seeks out our training after encountering patients experiencing PMADs and/or perinatal loss and realizing that there is a lack of coverage in the education received around these common but often misunderstood disorders and experiences.

Post-doctoral students and other mental health professionals transitioning to clinical practice also report benefiting from our training as it gives them early exposure to issues and considerations around diagnosis and treatment around diagnosis and treatment of PMADs.

• This program is approved by the National Association of Social Workers (Approval # 886720276-0) for 16 Social Work continuing education contact hours.
• Seleni Psychology Counseling and Support, PLLC 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-0477.
• Seleni Psychology Counseling and Support has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6950. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. Seleni Psychology Counseling and Support is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs.
• This activity is co-sponsored by Postpartum Support International and the Seleni Institute. Postpartum Support International is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. Postpartum Support International maintains responsibility for the program and its content.

Please note that neither the Seleni Institute nor its instructors receive commercial support for the continuing education programs or their content. At this time, there are no known conflicts of interest.

The Seleni Institute prioritizes the emotional health of individuals and families to improve the lives of our generation and future generations.

There is a gap in knowledge and understanding of emotional health and its impact on individuals and their families. We see an opportunity to close this gap-changing the way we treat emotional health both for our generation and future generations.

At Seleni, we recognize that many factors affect emotional health:

• We focus on individuals, not disorders.
• We value emotional health as much as physical health.
• We recognize that multiple factors impact emotional health, including genetics, environment, and personal circumstances.
• We empower healthcare professionals and employers to support people's emotional health with expert-led training.
• We seek to normalize, not stigmatize.