Skills Class 9 - Evidence-based Skills to Support Peripartum Individuals

According to the CDC approximately 3.5 million people get pregnant in the United States per year. It is estimated that 1 in 5 pregnant individuals face depression, anxiety, or another mood disorder (AAMC, 2026’ APA, 2023). Despite the high prevalence, pregnant people are often termed “therapeutic Orphans” (Winsor et al., 2020) because so many of these individuals do not receive the needed mental health care. This is likely due to many factors including, including a lack of training in applying/adapting therapeutic interventions for peripartum patients. This lack of inadequate care is unfortunate due to the available evidence which suggest that untreated depression and anxiety symptoms can negatively impact fertility (Liao et al, 2024), pregnancy outcomes (Heun-Johnson, et al., 2019), and the wellbeing of the pregnant person and child postpartum (Nath et al., 2019, Hoffman et al., 2017). Notably, several evidence-based therapies have been associated with helping peripartum individual with stress reduction, improvement of mood, and management of anxiety symptoms in the peripartum period. This skills class will introduce participants to (1) the state of mental health of peripartum individuals, (2) common evidence-based skills that can be useful when working with peripartum individuals, and (3) skills for supporting interdisciplinary support. Examples of therapeutic skills that are commonly helpful for this population will be presented, including Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, basic trauma-informed care, and mindfulness approaches. Both individual and group therapy approaches will be discussed. We will also discuss the importance of cultural humility and awareness when working with this population.