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April 26, 2013                                                                                                  
Issue #25
Because there is no health without Mental Health!

Post-Adoption Depression

    

A mother writes in Slate about her post-adoption depression after the adoption of her son Jake. Describing her symptoms, she explains:

 

"Around week four, my appetite waned. I started bursting into tears for no reason at all. Not only did I obsess about the icy stairs, but I became preoccupied with how to defend Jake from imaginary carjackers. I started practicing unbuckling him quickly from his carseat. I began missing work deadlines, ignoring calls from friends, wearing the same ratty black pants day after day. Sleep was strangely elusive: Even at the end of an exhausting day caring for this bright-eyed, sweet little man, whose smiles were coming more frequently, I'd lie awake in bed as if my eyelids were screwed into the open position.

Bed began to feel like the only safe place, in fact."

 

She also writes about her recovery process:

"And then one day that fall, a curtain lifted.... The great and unexpected gift of my depression was the ability to appreciate more fully everything I might have lost."

 

Read the full post here.

 

Provider Spotlight: Sarah Juul, MD 

 

Since last September, I have been working as an Assistant Professor and psychiatrist at Emory University School of Medicine, where I have a busy clinical practice in the Women's Mental Health Program. My medical education was completed at Stanford University in California, and I finished the Adult Psychiatry residency program at Emory last summer. In my final year of residency, I served as a Chief Resident in psychiatry at Grady Memorial Hospital. Prior to medical school, I received a Masters degree in public health and have done several projects in the area of women's health, sexuality, and trauma overseas as well as domestically. 

 

My current clinical interests are in the psychology of pregnancy and the postpartum and the treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders with psychotherapy. Given my long-standing interest in women's health, working in the Women's Mental Health Program seemed a natural fit. In my work with patients in the clinic, I am constantly impressed by the psychological richness of the process of becoming a mother and the potential for immense growth and change in this transition. With the vast psychological flux of pregnancy and the postpartum, I feel it is extremely important for providers to have an appreciation for some of the common psychological conflicts and crises that are part of this developmental shift. I feel extremely appreciative of the opportunity to spend my day supporting women who are passing through this experience and helping them to navigate the transition and appreciate its magnitude. 

 

Women who are seeking mental health care, and are considering pregnancy, already pregnant, or postpartum, can contact the Women's Mental Health Program at (404) 778-2524 to schedule an evaluation. We offer psychopharmacologic management and psychotherapy. 


Psychotherapy for Postpartum Depression

 

A post by a social worker in Postpartum Progress features 8 types of psychotherapy for postpartum depression treatment:

1. Interpersonal psychotherapy

2. Cognitive behavioral therapy

3. Dialectical behavioral therapy

4. Psychodynamic psychotherapy

5. Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing

6. Solution-focused brief psychotherapy

7. Group therapy

8. Couples therapy

Read more, including information about each type of therapy, by clicking here.

Did you know?
 

A study using mice has found that the stress hormone cortisol may be an important factor in programming the fetus, baby or child to be at risk of disease in later life, including mood disorders.

Read more here.

 

An article in Ob.Gyn News discusses the numerous barriers to care for prenatal and postpartum mental health.

Access the article here.

JOIN US

 for MHA of GA's 22nd Annual Tournament

Tee Off for Mental Health 2013

 

Chateau Elan  

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Chateau Elan Golf

Braselton, GA

 

 

 Click on this link for more information 

or contact Cindy Cohen to register

[email protected] 

 

 

SCREENING & IDENTIFICATION TRAINING FOR PERINATAL MOOD AND ANXIETY DISORDERS

 

Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) are the #1 complication of childbirth in the US, affecting approximately 10-15% of childbearing women. Project Healthy Moms' PMAD Screening and Identification Trainings are aimed at healthcare providers (e.g. physicians, nurses, social workers) who come in contact with childbearing women. Through this program, healthcare providers who are involved in maternal and child health are trained to recognize symptoms of the various PMADs and consequences of untreated PMADs. During the training, providers learn how to screen mothers for PMADs and are also educated about treatment options and referral methods. The goal of the training is to ensure that healthcare providers are able to correctly and routinely identify and refer women who may be suffering from PMADs in their practices.

 

To learn more and schedule a training, please contact Liz Smulian at [email protected] or at 678-904-1968.

RESOURCE LIST

 

Did you know that Mental Health America of Georgia has a resource list for pregnant and postpartum women? It is updated regularly and provides contact information for healthcare providers and outlets for self-care for pregnant or postpartum women.

 

To access the list, visit www.mhageorgia.org, then go to 

Our Programs > Project Healthy Moms > Resource List.

PROJECT HEALTHY MOMS WARMLINE AVAILABLE TO ALL GEORGIA WOMEN

 

The Project Healthy Moms Warmline is available in English and Spanish for ALL Georgia women seeking peer support and resource linkage for perinatal mood and anxiety disorders! Georgia women can phone in to the toll-free Project Healthy Moms Warmline, call the local Georgia number or email to contact a mother who has experienced and overcome perinatal depression/anxiety and who can provide emotional support and suggest appropriate resources. Please leave a message when you call the Warmline, and a support person will respond as soon as possible. It does get better!

 

Toll Free: 1-800-933-9896, ext. 234 (#1 for Spanish) 

Local: 678-904-1966 (#1 for Spanish) 

Email: [email protected] (English)  

[email protected] (Spanish)

 

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT!

 

Project Healthy Moms is an important initiative of MHA of Georgia.  Perinatal mood disorders are the most common complication of childbirth.  In the United States, between 10% and 15% of new mothers suffer from these devastating illnesses which, if not properly treated, can have a long-term negative impact on the health of not only the mothers, but their children and families as well.  Our goal is to increase awareness, identification, treatment, and support of perinatal mood disorders in Georgia, while also reducing the stigma associated with them.  To learn more about Project Healthy Moms, click here.

Project Healthy Moms is only one of many programs developed by MHA of Georgia to further our mission of enhancing the mental health of all Georgians through education, outreach, and advocacy. Click here to learn more about MHA of Georgia's other programs.  Your support will help us continue our work educating Georgians about mental illness, striving to eliminate stigma, and advocating on behalf of people with  mental illness in our state.  Click here to support MHA of Georgia.

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