Specialties, Services & Treatment Approaches
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
— Anais Nin
Specialties
Reproductive Mental Health
Reproductive mental health refers to anxiety or mood symptoms that emerge in the context of reproductive life cycle events such as puberty, menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, infertility, perinatal loss, infertility, and menopause. There are unique ways in which the hormones involved in these experiences interact with relationship, sleep, routine, and identity changes that contribute to a higher risk for mood and anxiety symptoms during these time periods. As the former program director of the Women’s Behavioral Health Program at West Penn Hospital, working with individuals across the reproductive life span is a strong area of interest and expertise for me.
Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders
Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the number one complication of pregnancy and impact one out of five birthing people. These conditions pose serious risks to parents and infant development at a time that most families expect to be the “happiest time in their life.” Factors such as a traumatic delivery, having a baby in the NICU, a history of depression, anxiety, or infertility, and limited social support increase ones’ risk for these conditions. Timely and effective treatment can truly be life saving, give people relief from distressing and debilitating symptoms, and strengthen relationships within the family.
Infertility
One in six individuals struggles with infertility in the United States. Infertility treatment is physically, emotionally and financially costly. Navigating the world of infertility can be isolating and overwhelming for parents trying to build their family in all types of ways, using assisted reproductive technology such as IVF, donor eggs, sperm, or embryo, or surrogacy, or adoption. I am a member of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine’s Mental Health Group and have expertise supporting diverse individuals trying to build their families.
Perinatal & Infant Loss
Perinatal loss is a devastating experience that is associated with a unique form of grief for parents. As soon as a prospective parent sees a positive pregnancy test, a whole world and future is imagined for this new baby. When this pregnancy ends in loss, whether through miscarriage, stillbirth, prematurity, or termination for medical reasons, the grief can be overwhelming as parents move through life without the child they thought they would be raising. Grieving the loss of a child who has yet to be born or lived a very short time is often referred to as prospective grief because parents don’t have concrete memories or experiences that they shared with their child and are instead grieving what they had hoped and dreamed for their future. Working with parents who are in the acute stages of grief is deeply meaningful work for me.
Anxiety & Mood Concerns
Anxiety and Mood Disorders are some of the most common and impairing mental health conditions, some of which include Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Depression, and Bipolar Disorder. Individuals struggling with mood and anxiety disorders often have a biological vulnerability that interacts with a life stressor or transition that results in symptoms that can include difficult to control worry, sleep and appetite changes, muscle tension, irritability, intrusive thoughts, compulsive behaviors, and/or physical agitation or panic attacks. Bipolar Disorder is a mood disorder that includes discrete periods of depressed, mania or hypomanic moods which can include a decreased need for sleep, increased goal directed behavior, pressured speech, grandiosity, hypersexuality, increased risk taking behavior, and/or psychosis. In treating anxiety and mood disorders, I take an individualized and compassionate approach and utilize elements of several evidence-based treatments for these conditions, which include Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy and Social Rhythm Therapy for Bipolar Disorder, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, and Behavioral Activation.
Trauma
Traumatic experiences are deeply distressing events that are highly subjective. Experiencing trauma or repeated traumatic events can alter the structure of individuals’ brains and nervous systems to keep them safe during life threatening or terrifying events. While some of these brain changes can be protective for individuals during a traumatic experience, they can contribute to unwanted physical, emotional and cognitive symptoms well after the trauma has ended. Post-traumatic stress symptoms can result from childhood sexual, physical, or emotional abuse, intimate partner violence, medical trauma, systemic racism, discrimination, exposure to community violence, or exploitation, among other difficult experiences. Healing from trauma takes time, trust, and a strong therapeutic relationship. I am trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and EMDR and utilize components of other evidence-based treatments when working with individuals who have experienced trauma. I am working toward EMDR certification and expect to be certified through EMDRIA in June, 2024.
Relationship Concerns
Relationships require vulnerability, communication, perspective taking, compromise and flexibility. Despite the central nature relationships play in well-being for all human beings, most individuals have very little formal education about how to have strong relationships. I have experience helping individuals navigate family of origin concerns, strengthen their communication skills, manage interpersonal conflict, and heal from relational trauma, and generally build more satisfying and meaningful relationships.
Parenting
When a baby is born, so is a parent. The transition to parenthood is simultaneously one of the most challenging and meaningful times of a parent’s life. I have expertise in helping new parents explore their identity as a parent, build their confidence, process experiences about being parented, and develop an intentional approach to their parenting. I am also trained in Circle of Security Parenting, which is an attachment-based parent reflection program aimed to help parents meet their child’s attachment needs.
“For a seed to achieve its greatest expression, it must come completely undone. The shell cracks, its insides come out and everything changes. To someone who doesn’t understand growth, it would look like complete destruction.”
— Cynthia Occell
Services
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Individual therapy gives you a confidential space to treat distressing feelings, reassess past or current experiences and learn new coping strategies to manage challenging life events. I integrate a variety of evidence-based treatment models to help individuals navigate life transitions, manage distressing mental health symptoms, grief, and/or relationship challenges.
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I offer Circle of Security Parenting Groups. Please contact me to inquire about any current groups.
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Family therapy involves the opportunity to strengthen family units through open communication.
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I have experience providing supervision to psychology graduate students, interns, postdoctoral fellows in reproductive psychology. I have also provided consultation to clinicians and health systems interested in establishing perinatal mental health services. Please contact me to inquire about supervision or consultation.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT)
Eye Movement Desensitization & Reprocessing (EMDR)
Circle of Security Parenting
The Mind Body Program for Fertility
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Program
Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Behavioral Activation
Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT)
Family-Based Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Interpersonal & Social Rhythm Therapy for Bipolar Disorder
Dialectical-Behavior Therapy (DBT)
Michigan Model of DBT for Pregnancy and Postpartum
Treatment Approaches
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