Presentations Include:

• Understanding Project TEACH Perinatal Mental Health Services
• Practical Approaches to Mental Health Screening and Safety in the Perinatal Period
• Suicide Risk Assessment and Management with Role Play
• Prevention and Treatment of Perinatal Depression/Anxiety Using Psychotherapies
• A Non-Prescriber’s Guide to Psychiatric Medications During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding
• Trauma-Informed Care
• Q&A

Overview:

This track is designed to enhance your skills in evidence-based screening for perinatal mental health disorders, substance use, and intimate partner violence, and learn how to approach suicide risk assessment and safety planning through didactic presentations and role play.

The program covers an overview of prevention and treatment approaches including evidence-based psychotherapies, psychiatric medication safety during pregnancy and lactation, trauma-informed care, and strategies to support patient adherence while addressing barriers to treatment in diverse populations.

Course content will directly apply to physicians (non-mental health specialists), advanced practice providers (including midwifery), nurses, social workers, therapists, lactation counselors, doulas, and community and allied health professionals.

Learning Objectives:

As a result of this program, learners will:

• Screen, assess, and manage perinatal mental health emergencies by applying evidence-based screening protocols for mood disorders, anxiety, substance use, and intimate partner violence using validated tools, conducting suicide risk assessment and safety planning with structured tools and stratifying risk levels to implement appropriate interventions.
• Implement evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions and prevention strategies for perinatal depression and anxiety, including ROSE (5-session prevention program), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, and trauma-informed care approaches, while identifying and addressing barriers to treatment engagement in diverse populations through culturally sensitive referrals and patient education.
• Support informed decision-making about psychiatric medications during pregnancy and lactation by recognizing the maternal, obstetrical, and child developmental consequences of untreated perinatal mental health disorders, describing safety profiles of common psychotropic medications (antidepressants, zuranolone, benzodiazepines), and facilitating patient adherence through collaborative communication with prescribers and linkage to psychiatric resources.
• Utilize Project TEACH perinatal mental health services to access telephone consultations with perinatal psychiatrists and psychologists for medication management guidance, safety planning support, therapy engagement strategies, patient evaluation services, and referral/linkage assistance to optimize care for perinatal patients with mental health concerns.

Presentations Include:

• Understanding Project TEACH Perinatal Mental Health Services
• Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Perinatal Psychiatric Illness
• Pharmacotherapy Approaches for Perinatal Depression and Anxiety
• Pharmacotherapy Approaches for Bipolar Disorder During the Perinatal Period
• Pharmacotherapy of ADHD in Perinatal Patients
• Pharmacotherapy and CBT Approaches for Perinatal Insomnia
• Q&A

Overview:

This track is designed to enhance your skills in diagnosing and treating perinatal mental health disorders through evidence-based psychotherapeutic and pharmacological approaches.

Participants will master psychotherapy interventions including CBT, IPT, collaborative care models, and prevention programs, while learning to integrate these with pharmacotherapy for optimal patient outcomes. The program provides comprehensive guidance on prescribing antidepressants, mood stabilizers, ADHD medications, and treatments for insomnia during pregnancy and lactation, including reproductive safety profiles, teratogenic risks, dose adjustments across trimesters, breastfeeding considerations, and management of complex conditions such as bipolar disorder and postpartum psychosis. Participants will learn to implement proper monitoring protocols and apply perinatal-specific adaptations of evidence-based treatments to achieve symptom remission while optimizing maternal and neonatal outcomes.

Course content will directly apply to physicians and advanced practice providers practicing obstetrics, family medicine, psychiatry, pediatrics and integrated behavioral health settings.

Learning Objectives:

As a result of this program, learners will:

• Diagnose perinatal psychiatric conditions including perinatal depression and anxiety disorders, bipolar disorder, postpartum psychosis, ADHD, and insomnia disorders, while understanding the maternal, obstetrical, and child developmental consequences of untreated illness.
• Implement evidence-based psychotherapeutic interventions for perinatal mental health disorders by comparing and applying Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, supportive therapy, and collaborative care models with perinatal-specific adaptations, implementing prevention strategies, utilizing CBT for insomnia, and integrating psychotherapy with pharmacotherapy to achieve symptom remission.
• Apply evidence-based pharmacotherapy strategies for perinatal mental health conditions by selecting appropriate medications based on safety, patient history and symptom severity, implementing perinatal-specific dosing and monitoring protocols, and integrating non-pharmacological interventions as foundational treatment components.
• Evaluate reproductive safety profiles of psychiatric medications during pregnancy and lactation, monitoring requirements for mood stabilizers, ADHD medications, benzodiazepine, insomnia medications, and relative infant doses during breastfeeding, to support individualized risk-benefit decision-making and optimize maternal and neonatal outcomes.