Full Course Description

Postpartum Depression & Related Disorders: Clinical Strategies to Identify and Treat Mothers Who Are Suffering in Silence

It’s not a topic that comes up at play groups or over coffee. Instead, 1 in 7 new mothers prefer to suffer quietly, engulfed in shame and secrecy, afraid to dispel the ever-present myths about motherhood – “everything is perfect”, “I love being a mother”, and “this is the happiest time of my life”.

She doesn’t share the dark thoughts, intense anxiety, scary intrusive thoughts, checking excessively on the baby, feelings of inadequacy, grief over her former independence, thoughts of harming herself or the baby, and even delusions and hallucinations.

Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADS), are real, pervasive, and life-threatening.

Are you missing the signs with the women you treat?

Watch this compelling one-day seminar and gain tools to intervene during a critical period that does not offer the luxury of time. Postpartum women are exceptionally vulnerable, as are their infants who are fully dependent on them. And given that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of maternal death, this seminar is a must-attend for any professional working with pregnant or postpartum women.

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Program Information

Objectives

Develop communication style that meets the unique needs of perinatal clients in order to improve client engagement and retention.
Differentiate between “normal” perinatal experiences and clinically relevant symptoms to inform clinician's choice of treatment interventions.
Modify clinical interventions and screening tools to incorporate the "holding" approach with perinatal clients.
Integrate understanding of common difficulties occurring within perinatal family system for purpose of psychoeducation, collaboration with family members or partners, and improved specificity of case conceptualization.
Determine self-regulation skills and interventions the clinician can use to manage vulnerability that may interfere with treatment of perinatal clients.
Assess and respond effectively to special circumstances (breastfeeding, NICU, perinatal loss, adoption, depression in the partner) that impact therapeutic process and treatment planning.

Outline

The Clinical Profile of PMADs: (Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders):

What causes postpartum mental health disorders?
The “perinatal masquerade” and illusion of perfection in parenthood
Why “perinatal” is a multi-decade stage in life
What makes mood disorders during this period unique
Breaking through guilt, shame, and silence
Limitations of the research and potential risks

PMAD Screening and Assessment

Are you asking the right questions?
Red flags: What to look/listen for each session
Evidence-based assessment tools
Differential diagnosis: The PMAD spectrum
- Depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, psychosis
The Postpartum Stress Center PMAD Response Model
How to respond to disclosures of thoughts to harm self or baby
Where and how to refer to a specialist/higher level of care

Clinical Interventions for Parents Who are Symptomatic, Exhausted, and Preoccupied

How treatment differs for this population
Create a safe “holding environment”
Break through guilt, shame, and silence
Navigating scary intrusive thoughts
Practical interventions for busy new parents
The perinatal family: Identify and engage necessary supports in treatment
Tools for healing the perinatal intimate partnership
Psychotropic medications: Safe for pregnant or nursing parents?
Collaborative care with other providers
Videos: Beyond the Fear & Voices of Recovery
Exercises: Token assessment and case examples

The Nuanced Experience of the Perinatal Clinician

Managing countertransference
Ethical decision making: Breaking the rules and self-disclosure
Collaboration and collegial support

Special Considerations

Feeding issues: Breastfeeding and/or bottle
Infertility/Assisted reproductive technologies
Trauma
NICU
Perinatal grief and loss
When PMADs are left untreated or present later in parenthood
Multicultural factors

Copyright : 11/08/2021

Perinatal Loss: An Attachment-Informed Treatment Framework for Helping Clients Process and Heal from Pregnancy Loss

It’s not a topic that people will bring up at work, over coffee, or even at get togethers with close friends. Instead, 1 in 4 women suffer in silence, because it’s not something that they are supposed to talk about – it is a topic that stays firmly behind closed doors and if you dare breach that social boundary, you may hear well-intentioned, but hurtful statements such as:

“At least you were only a few weeks along.” “Everything happens for a reason.” “Why don’t you just adopt?” “Just think positive.” “You just need to relax and it’ll happen in time.”

There really should be a book titled What Not to Say when it comes to pregnancy and infant loss.

I know because I’ve been there. After my experiences of loss, I heard the invalidating statements and I experienced the paradoxical sense of isolation – paradoxical because the reality is so many of us have experienced this kind of loss. The reality then becomes that many individuals only feel comfortable discussing their experience of pregnancy loss within the confines of a confidential therapeutic space.

Yet, while we may serve as one of the few if not the only safe harbour for individuals to share and process their experience of loss, in our clinical training, pregnancy and infant loss was quickly brushed over – most often as an aside in larger, generalized discussion of grief. Clients seeking psychotherapy for pregnancy or infant loss may have kept it hidden, feel unsure where to turn for help and may already be hesitant about the validity of their pain and the usefulness of therapy in supporting them. You need to feel confident in your ability to help them navigate one of the toughest struggles they will ever face – their story of not only loss, but of love.

In this specialized, intensive training, I will walk you through the challenging realities of a pregnancy or infant loss - the accompanying emotional roller coaster, and specific steps to take to help your clients move forward. You’ll learn the best interventions for treating grief after a loss and uncover the mistakes you may be making – without even realizing it!

Whether you’re a specialist already or just getting started in this area, this training is for you! Watch me in this powerful training and learn proven strategies that will help your clients heal.

Program Information

Objectives

Utilize clinical strategies to assess, conceptualize, and treat pregnancy loss.
Employ evidence-based grief and trauma interventions to treat pregnancy loss and to support clients in future reproductive journey.
Investigate clinical considerations and adaptations to treat pregnancy loss within couples and group psychotherapy.
Build the development of greater insight in both clinicians and clients they are treating.

Outline

Perinatal Loss: Common Misconceptions

Misattunement to the loss
Far reaching implications of reproductive trauma
Ongoing and chronic nature of the trauma

Assessment: Exploring Clients’ Reproductive Story

How to listen for red flags: grief, guilt, shame, self-blame, and hopelessness
Identifying unique and numerous losses experienced
When things take a turn: anxiety, depression, OCD
How to fully validate clients’ experience
Sharing the Story
Utilizing relevant assessment measures

Treatment Planning for Pregnancy and Infant Loss

Chronic trauma related to pregnancy loss
Adapting PTSD strategies for reproductive trauma
Addressing grief by utilizing loss and restoration orientation framework
Highlighting implicit emotions that may impact treatment progress including shame, self-blame, and hopelessness
Balancing complicated grief while still trying to conceive

Treatment Interventions: Helping Clients Move Forward, Not On

Utilizing attachment-focused approach
Trauma-informed/PTSD adaptations
Build resiliency with interventions based on empathy, forgiveness and compassion
Maintaining relationships with partner and family
Adapting clinical techniques for couples and group work
Supporting clients in subsequent pregnancies

Clinical Considerations

Culturally informed case conceptualizations
Relationship to body after a loss
Countertransference
How to hold personal experience with pregnancy loss while helping clients
Limitations and risks

Copyright : 25/02/2021

Treat Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder, Premenstrual Syndrome & Emotional-Dysregulation with DBT & CBT

“My emotions feel like they’re non-stop!” “I have no energy.” “I want to hide my body.”

For most women, traditional pharmaceutical interventions fall short for treating the mental and emotional rollercoaster of Pre-Menstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD).

Many clinicians ignore the diagnosis that affects millions of women.

But, the reality is the depression, anxiety, mood swings, trouble sleeping, panic, and body image issues – even suicidal thoughts – can make day-to-day life for these women unbearable. Relationships with loved ones, work, diet, doing the laundry, all these areas suffer for women bogged down mentally, emotionally, and physical by PMDD.

Be the therapist that listens! The therapist that does more than refer to a medical provider for birth control or hormones.

Join Kristine Spano, PsyD and licensed psychologist for an all new training that incorporates principles of DBT & CBT into the therapeutic treatment of PMDD. In this training you’ll shatter the myths that are keeping women shackled in the pain of PMDD and be able to provide genuine evidence-based interventions that support women – you’ll learn:

How to assess and diagnose PMDD

How the body’s biological changes impact mental health

Interventions across all affected domains – relationships, career, body, and more!

Program Information

Objectives

Diagnose PMDD.
Perform screens and assessments for PMDD.
Utilize psychoeducation about the impact of PMDD on the nervous system.
Create a self-care toolbox that is customizable to your patients’ lifestyles.
Assess areas of intervention for family members.
Apply principles of DBT to clients struggle with PMDD and premenstrual mental health concerns.

Outline

Assessing & Diagnosis PMDD

Affective, behavioural, and somatic indicators
Changes to DSM-V – what it means
Differentiate from other conditions
Where pharmaceutical interventions fall short
Simply screens for PMDD
If you’re a male clinician…

PMDD and the Adrenal Overload

HPA Axis (hypothalamus-pituitary adrenal system) – how it works
Hormonal changes impact on mood
Nervous system reactions and how to quell them
Neurobiological keys of PMDD

Lessening the PMDD Burden

Applying Emotional Regulation Tools Across All Domains
How to support women in their careers
Help client’s create a PMDD self-care toolbox
The role of loved ones in mitigating distress
Mindfulness interventions for the office
Distress tolerance tools for interpersonal relationships
Stopping the spiral of negative body image

Telehealth Treatment for Postpartum Depression and Related Disorders

Watch this compelling 2-hour recording and gain tools to intervene during a critical period that does not offer the luxury of time. Postpartum women are exceptionally vulnerable, as are their infants who are fully dependent on them. And given that suicide is the 2nd leading cause of maternal death, this program is a must-see for any professional working remotely with pregnant or postpartum women.

Gain the tools you need to translate the “art” of perinatal treatment to telehealth – so new mothers can begin to experience relief from their suffering.

Program Information

Objectives

Appraise the empirical and anecdotal evidence related to the efficacy of telehealth for mental health treatment during the perinatal period.
Utilize the six “holding points” of perinatal therapy via a given telehealth platform.
Develop clinical skills to address and manage therapist vulnerability and countertransference issues during treatment.

Outline

PMAD’s at a Glance: Best Practices for Virtual Care

Key terms and concepts
Best practices for screening and recommended treatment approaches
Empirical and anecdotal evidence in support of telehealth for PMAD’S
Pros and cons of telehealth in the perinatal period

Perinatal Telehealth: Treatment Strategies and Approaches

Kleiman’s “holding” approach to perinatal therapy
- Defining and developing the perinatal holding environment
- 6 holding points
- Developing a holding environment via telehealth
- 6 tools for augmenting the client experience of holding
Translating holding principles to virtual care

Therapist Vulnerability and Perinatal Telehealth

Reasons for increased therapist vulnerability in this speciality/Countertransference
Ethical decision making: Boundaries/ Self-disclosure
3 tools for therapist self-holding during and after telehealth session

Special Considerations

Escalation of care
Examining the underlying reasons for use of telehealth vs. in-office treatment
Pandemics and other extenuating circumstances

The Miscarriage Map Workbook

Honest. Authentic. 100% Reliable. This workbook will empower you to move forward, not on, after pregnancy loss.

In this follow-up to her widely acclaimed book, The Miscarriage Map, Dr. Sunita Osborn has created a secular and research-based workbook to approach the painful reality of pregnancy loss. Strikingly vulnerable, yet drawing on her work in reproductive psychology, she is unparalleled in her ability to help those who have also experienced miscarriage.

In the Miscarriage Map Workbook, Dr. Osborn offers a straightforward roadmap to help women move through the trauma and grief of pregnancy loss, allowing them to feel deeply understood, better equipped to handle life stressors, and more empowered to move forward in life. With both her clinical expertise and personal experience in mind, this workbook is filled with practical, engaging, and meaningful tools and insight that will allow readers to:

Develop coping skills for pregnancy loss and the intense emotions that accompany miscarriages
Uncover their reproductive stories and process reproductive trauma
Cultivate greater acceptance, compassion, and empathy for themselves
Work through the sense of betrayal and shame they may feel toward their physical body
Navigate intimacy and the unique challenges in their relationships
Reconnect with their purpose and values as they move forward, not on, from their loss

Each chapter includes notes and tips that therapists, OBGYNs, midwifes, and other helping professionals can use to tailor treatments for each individual patient.