Dr. Kendra Flores-Carter is a maternal child and pediatric clinical social worker for university-affiliated teaching hospital Arrowhead Regional Medical Center (ARMC) in Colton, California. Currently teaching at California State University San Bernardino, Dr. Flores-Carter will be at California Baptist University starting in August 2018 as an Assistant Professor in the Masters of Social Work program….
World Maternal Mental Health Day Wednesday, May 2, 2018 International Maternal Mental Health Week Monday April 30 – Sunday May 6 Helping Mothers, Fathers, and Babies! In many countries, as many as 1 in 5 new mothers experience some type of perinatal mood and anxiety disorder (PMD). These illnesses frequently go unnoticed and untreated, often with…
Freeing Myself from My Negative Perceptions in the Postpartum By MJ Golias for the PSI Blog April 6, 2018 I don’t “just let go” of anything; I analyze, then analyze some more. Many, including my husband, say that the “why” doesn’t matter, or the “how.” They remind me that the “now” is what I should…
Join Us! Climb Out of the Darkness 2018 The Climb Out of the Darkness 2018 is beginning! This is the sixth year that survivors will share their personal experiences with perinatal mental illness. Some of us have been sharing our stories for years, and some will speak their truth perhaps for the very first time….
by Chelsea Elker for the PSI Blog March 6, 2018 Last month our country was once again reminded of the pain one person’s actions can have upon countless innocent lives. The shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida is not only heartbreaking for those students involved and their families, it is also a…
A Therapist’s Tool We Can All Use by Lisa Edwards for the PSI Blog February 27, 2018 My children wake up early. Very early. The only time we ever use an alarm clock is if we are traveling and have to get up for a flight. Needless to say, I tend to complain about this….
by April Gabriel-Ferretti, MS, MFT For the Postpartum Support International Blog February 20, 2018 By now you’ve likely heard the story of Jessica Porten, a new mom from Sacramento, California who was devastated to learn that, after sharing her concerns with a nurse practitioner at her OB’s office, the police had been called. Jessica had,…
by Suma Karandikar for PSI Blog February 16, 2018 From the day you bring children into the world, you would probably agree that one of your greatest responsibilities is to keep them out of harm’s way. Almost instinctively, you make sure your child’s shoes are tied so she won’t trip, grab the lollipop that fell…
A Letter to the OCD Momma By Chelsea Elker for the PSI Blog February 8, 2018 To the mom who suffers OCD in silence: I see you. To the mom who spends all of her “me” time crying into her pillow: I get it. To the mom whose eyes dart across the room, wondering who…
by Dyane Harwood for the PSI Blog January 30 2018 This blog originally appeared in Self Magazine on July 25, 2017. My manic symptoms were mistaken for a mother’s joy—I needed help. Within 24 hours of giving birth to my daughter Marilla in 2007, I was hypomanic, a mood state that literally means “less than…