Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) Therapy: A Therapist’s Overview
Gretchen Mallios, LCSW, RYT is a therapist in private practice in San Diego and past President of Postpartum Health Alliance. In addition, she is the founder of Positively Yoga, where she and other instructors offer therapeutic yoga and mindfulness services to support emotional health Many people compare pregnancy and parenting to a roller coaster, filled […]
Conversations that Count: Ask a Dad about His Journey
International Fathers’ Mental Health Day (IFMHD) was on June 17th (the day after Father’s Day), so I wanted to take a quick look at an often-overlooked aspect of new fathers’ adjustment to parenthood: His own hormonal changes. Several of my colleagues founded IFMHD several years back as a way to draw some much-needed attention to […]
Why I Climb.
Postpartum Health Alliance (PHA) is honored to co-host San Diego’s 5th annual Climb Out of the Darkness, the world’s largest event raising awareness about PMADs (perinatal mood and anxiety disorders). Please join us for this free, family-friendly event on June 15th at Kate Sessions Park from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. Blog post by Julie […]
The Perfect Mother
Written by PHA Board member Dr. Amanda Freeman. Amanda is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in private practice. She is passionate about making the experience of motherhood a joyful and fulfilling time. Striving for the impossible ideal of being the “perfect mother” is a trap many can fall into. The “perfect mother” is plastered all over […]
Play. Connect. Love.
February is the month of love. This time of year, people go to great lengths to show how much they love each other. There are grand gestures and extravagant gifts, but I’m here to reinforce the idea that showing love is actually very simple. The key ingredient to any loving relationship is presence. Being fully […]
Walking Through Infant Loss
By Nikki Watkins, PsyD, LMFT My journey through infant loss is one I never thought I would endure. I had given birth to three healthy children prior to this pregnancy and there was no reason for me to think this would be any different. Even when we were told at five months gestation that our […]
5 Ways to Feel Physically & Mentally Empowered in Your Postpartum Journey
Blog submitted by PHA Board Member Colleen Flaherty, B.A., NSCA-CSCS. Colleen is a strength coach and owner and founder of Prokreate. The mind and body are built to work in beautiful harmony, both feeding off each other for resiliency and growth. Your body is only as functional, strong, or healthy as your mind thinks it […]
Please Be That Friend
Blog submitted by Semira Semino-Asaro, PhD, APRN, PHA Board Member In recognition of the International Day of Friendship on July 30th, this month’s blog focuses on the strong bond between two women whose friendship proved to be a source of strength, love, comfort and healing as one struggled with postpartum depression and anxiety. A […]
Maternal Mental Health and the Infant-Parent Relationship
Blog submitted by Claudia Rios-Gastelum, LMFT Motherhood and childhood remain interconnected long before and after the umbilical cord is cut. As both baby and mother transition into each of their roles, they will create this dance by reading each other’s cues to build on their relationship. However, in a partnership where the mother is experiencing […]
#Realmotherhood is the Antidote to the Myth of Perfect Motherhood
Blog submitted by Shelly Tregembo May is Maternal Mental Health Month and April 30 to May 4 is MMH Awareness Week. Our friends over at the Blue Dot Project MMH Week 2018 are launching a social media campaign to breakdown the stereotypes of motherhood. It’s so very easy in our carefully curated social media world to […]