Perinatal Mental Health

Having a baby is psychologically taxing. In addition to the bodily strain and stress, anxiety about one’s baby can be overwhelming even in pregnancies where everything is going well. Add to this instances where parents have undergone fertility treatments or where they have lost a previous baby—not to mention difficult births—and it becomes obvious that psychological distress in parents should be considered the norm and not the exception.

Perinatal Mental Health is intended as an introduction to these concerns and as an aid to increasing therapist readiness for handling such issues. In this video, Drs. Diane Sanford  and Kathleen Kendall-Tackett discuss issues that mothers face pre- and postpartum and best practices for working with mothers. The video centers around a demonstration session in which Dr. Sanford meets with a young mother who is caring not only for her new child but for another family member as well. In this demonstration, Dr. Sanford assesses mental health conditions as well as social support, encourages self-care, and teaches skills that can be used throughout the lifespan. The demonstration is followed by a lively discussion between Drs. Kendall-Tackett and Sanford reviewing key moments within the session.

Dr. Diane Sanford is a clinical psychologist who has treated women for perinatal mental health conditions since 1987. An internationally recognized expert in this field, she has co-authored 3 books about perinatal mental health including Stress Less Live Better For Pregnancy, Postpartum and Early Motherhood (2019); Life Will Never Be the Same: The Real Mom’s Postpartum Survival Guide (2010); and Postpartum Survival Guide (1994). Over the course of her career, she has counseled hundreds of women on how to regain their health and well-being after a perinatal mental health episode of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress and other clinically significant conditions.

She has served on the Board of Postpartum Support International, the Board of Advisors for ICEA, the Advisory Board for Babycenter.com, local hospital perinatal mental health boards, as Mother to Mother phone support clinical advisor and on the Board of the Children’s Service Trust Fund of St. Louis County. For many years, she provided expert testimony and evaluation of mom’s whose criminal actions were suspected have to have resulted from postpartum mental health conditions. Through her workshops, videos and online presentations, she’s taught thousands of healthcare providers ranging from childbirth educators to parent educators to behavioral health providers to nursing and medical practitioners how to care for women experiencing perinatal mental health conditions.

She has served on the APA Panel for Media Experts, and has been interviewed by print, broadcast, and online media about perinatal mental health as well as how women’s reproductive health affects their mental health across the lifespan. In addition to pregnancy and postpartum, Dr. Sanford specializes in fertility challenges, pregnancy loss, complicated birth experiences and birth trauma, midlife, peri-menopause, menopause, and women’s lives and aging. Her current clinical work focuses on mindful stress reduction and teaching clients healthier and more skillful ways of coping with life and mental health challenges that will allow them to create optimal health and well-being.

APA Videos

Pregnancy Loss
Rayna Markin

Adoption-Specific Therapy in Practice
Jill Waterman, PhD

Brief Strategic Family Therapy in Practice
José Szapocznik, PhD

Family Therapy Over Time
Susan H. McDaniel, PhD

Counseling Clients Who Have Difficulty Getting Pregnant Again
Susan H. McDaniel, PhD

Counseling Clients Who Have Trouble Conceiving
Susan H. McDaniel, PhD

APA Books

Breastfeeding Doesn't Need to Suck: How to Nurture Your Baby and Your Mental Health
Kathleen Kendall-Tackett, PhD, IBCLC, FAPA

Coping With Infertility, Miscarriage, and Neonatal Loss: Finding Perspective and Creating Meaning
Amy Wenzel, PhD

The Essential Guide to Children’s Sleep: A Tired Caregiver's Workbook for Every Age and Stage
Andrea C. Roth, PsyD, Allison Shale, PsyD, and Shelby F. Harris, PsyD, DBSM

Reproductive Trauma: Psychotherapy With Clients Experiencing Infertility and Pregnancy Loss, Second Edition
Janet Jaffe, PhD

The Psychology of PCOS: Building the Science and Breaking the Silence
Stacey L. Williams, PhD

Deliberate Practice in Behavioral Parent Training
Mark D. Terjesen, Hilary Vidair, Phyllis Ohr, Olivia Walsh, Tony Rousmaniere, and Alexandre Vaz

Suggested resources

Kendall-Tackett, K. A. (2023). Depression in new mothers: Causes, consequences, and risk factors, Vol I. Routledge.

Kendall-Tackett, K. A. (2024). Depression in new mothers: Screening, assessment, and treatment options, Vol. II. Routledge.