Beyond Baby Blues: An In-Depth Look at Reproductive Mental Health

Length
3 hour

CEU/CME Credit
3.0 units

Recorded
June 26, 2026

This training discusses evidence-based treatments and tools that can be used by providers to support individuals navigating mood and anxiety disorders, OCD, grief, and suicidality during perinatal or postpartum time periods and reproductive loss.

Key insights:

  • Reproductive mental health spans the entire reproductive lifespan, not just pregnancy and the postpartum period.
  • Conditions like PMDD, postpartum OCD, reproductive grief, and perinatal anxiety are common but frequently overlooked or misdiagnosed.
  • The timing, severity, and duration of symptoms are often the key to distinguishing normal adjustment from conditions that require treatment.

Training Options

There are several ways to learn from this training. You can either watch the recording for free or take the self-paced course for CE credit. We also have the slides available to download. 

Watch Recording

(Free) You can watch the full recording of this training for free on our YouTube Channel. This is perfect if you’re not seeking CE credit or would like to preview the training before taking the course.

($52) You can receive 3 hours of self-paced, asynchronous CE credit for this training.

UCEBT is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. UCEBT maintains responsibility for this program and its content.

This presentation is also approved for 3 hours of home-study CE credit through UPA, NASW-UT, UAMFT, and UMHCA.

Physicians (ACCME) Credit Designation Statement:
CE Learning Systems designates this live activity for a maximum of 3 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Interprofessional Continuing Education:
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE) credits for learning and change.

Follow along with the recording by downloading the presentation slides personal use.

However, please note that no part of the materials available through the Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment may be copied, photocopied, reproduced, translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine-readable form, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the presenter and creator of the presentation. Contact info@ucebt.com for questions.

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About This Training

This presentation provides an overview of perinatal and postpartum mood and anxiety disorders, which affects a significant portion of the childbearing population. Participants will explore the hormonal, physical, and psychological foundations of these disorders, including perinatal OCD, depression, anxiety, grief, reproductive loss, and birth trauma, recognizing that up to 30% of individuals describe their birth experience as traumatic.

The session will also address self-harm, suicidality, and rumination within this population, with attention to the stigma that often surrounds these experiences. A core focus will be the reproductive story as a clinical tool, emphasizing that failing to explore a client’s reproductive history and birth experiences may leave critical aspects of treatment unaddressed. Presenters will conclude with an overview of empirically supported, transdiagnostic treatment modalities and practical tools clinicians can integrate into their work.

Please note that some participants may experience discomfort during discussions of reproductive loss, suicidality, and perinatal mood disorders; self-care and consultation are encouraged as needed.

Learning Objectives: 

  1. List 2 evidence-based treatments appropriate for perinatal/postpartum mental health.

  2. Explain what the reproductive story is

  3. Describe 2-4 ways in which the reproductive story can be used to process reproductive grief and perinatal/postpartum mental health.

  4. Summarize research on suicidality/self-harm in perinatal/postpartum populations.

About the Presenters

Dr. Sheila Crowell is a co-owner of the Utah Center for Evidence Based Treatment, a licensed clinical psychologist, and a psychology professor at the University of Oregon. She is an expert in emotion dysregulation and suicide risk across the lifespan, with over 150 publications related to these topics. Over the past decade, her work has focused on pregnancy and the transition to parenthood for mothers and their partners. Dr. Crowell is currently co-directing several research projects, including a clinical trial of Dialectical Behavior Therapy skills for pregnant women, an exploration of sleep patterns in mother-father-infant families from pregnancy through the first year of life, and a study of trauma and coping among Black and Latina pregnant and their partners. Dr. Crowell is a mother to two young adult daughters and is passionately committed to providing science-based and non-judgmental therapy and parent coaching at UCEBT.

Dr. Rachel Hopkins is a clinical psychologist, the Program Director of UCEBT’s Anxiety and Mood Program, and mom to a fun, sweet, spunky 10-month-old. She received her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Clinical Psychology from the Institute of Graduate Clinical Psychology at Widener University. Her doctoral research focused on facilitating posttraumatic growth in clinical treatment. As a therapist, Dr. Hopkins is passionate about helping people do hard things in order to reduce fear and worry and live a life that is bigger, fuller, and more meaningful. She specializes in treating anxiety, OCD, depression, trauma, and other chronic physical and mental health conditions using research-backed treatments including ACT, CBT, and DBT. She has completed advanced training and certification in reproductive mental health, military focused care, and is a proud member of The LGBTQ-Affirmative Psychotherapist Guild of Utah. When people are feeling stuck, unlike the kind of person they want to be, or living a life that has gotten increasingly limited, she is here to help. 

Dr. Rachel Armstrong obtained her doctorate from William James College in Boston, MA. She received training and clinical experience in behavioral health interventions and health psychology, including training in clinical hypnosis and behavioral medicine interventions. She completed a certificate course on reproductive mental health and is passionate about working with individuals who feel stuck or overwhelmed with their mental health and physical health challenges. She completed her APA-accredited internship at LifeStance Health where she gained experience working in integrated behavioral health settings and working with perinatal populations. Currently, Dr. Armstrong is a postdoctoral fellow and licensed clinical psychologist at UCEBT.

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References

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