Written by a pioneer and continuing advocate for perinatal health, this book remains remains an enduring reference for any therapist working with pregnant or postpartum women and their families suffering from perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.This Classic Edition includes a new preface by Hilary Waller that reflects on changes in the field since the book’s first publication.
Using a blend of professional objectivity, evidence-based research, and personal, straight-forward suggestions gathered from years of experience, this book brings the reader into the private world of therapy with the postpartum woman. Based on psychodynamic and cognitive-behavioral theories, and on D.W. Winnicott's ‘good-enough mother’ and the ‘holding environment’, the book is written by a therapist who has specialized in the treatment of postpartum depression for over 30 years. Chapters address diagnosis, medication, depression, psychosis, suicidal thoughts, bonding, as well as finding meaning and the power to heal during recovery.
Bringing further attention to under recognized illnesses which plague mothers and cloud the childbirth experience, this Classic Edition serves as an accessible companion tool for clinicians and the women they treat.
Therapy and the Postpartum Woman : Notes on Healing Postpartum Depression for Clinicians and the Women Who Seek their Help
Description
Table of Contents
Introduction to the Classic Edition by Karen Kleiman and Hilary Waller; Part I: The Framework: Women, Babies and Therapy. Masquerade: Clinical Profile. Everything Gets in the Way: Resistance. Don’t Call it Therapy: Reframing. Anatomy of a PPD Therapist. The Holding Environment. Making a Diagnosis. The Voice of Depression. Therapeutic Models for Women at Risk. Perfectly Postpartum. Part II: The Tools: Doing what works. Initial Assessment: The Phone Call. First Things First. Screening: Are We Asking the Right questions? Assessment: Listening to Symptoms. Collaboration. Sharing the Session. Medication: Clinician’s Perspective. Medication: Client’s Perspective. Alternative Therapies. Part III: The Work: Clinical Challenges. Scary Thoughts. Help-Resistant Complainer. A Good Girl. Breastfeeding to Death. Countertransference: When is Yours, Mine? Sleeplessness. The Married State. Bonding. Suicidal Thoughts. Psychosis. Motherself. Prevention? Burnout, Boundaries and Other Pitfalls. Part IV: The Healing. The Umbilical Factor. The Bracelet. Therapy Exposed. Finding the Power to Heal. Recovery Revealed. The Search for Meaning. The Quintessential Mother. Appendix.
Author Description
Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed clinical social worker and internationally recognized expert on maternal mental health. With over 30 years of experience in the field, she is the author of several books on postpartum depression and anxiety and is the founder of The Postpartum Stress Center, a treatment and training facility for prenatal and postpartum depression and anxiety disorders.
Hilary Waller, LPC, is the director of programming at The Postpartum Stress Center. She provides continuing education for maternal health care providers in the identification and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders and leads advanced trainings for professionals from around the country.