Maternal Mental Health Training
Friday, February 7, 2025
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Online via Zoom
Join the Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® of Minnesota Center for Rural Behavioral Health to learn about maternal mental health!
Cost: $99 (early bird price of $89 through January 15)
Earn 6 CEUs!
This training has been approved for 6 CEUs by the Minnesota boards of Social Work, Marriage and Family Therapy, Behavioral Health and Therapy, and Psychology as well as licensing boards in SD, ND, and WI. (Awaiting approval)
Morning Session | 9:00 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Aurélie Athan, PhD, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Columbia University
- Summarize the history of the concept of matrescence and its relevance to maternal mental health.
- Apply a biopsychosocial model to understand the multifaceted changes (biological, psychological, and social) mothers experience during matrescence.
- Evaluate ethical considerations and practical applications for integrating matrescence-informed approaches into clinical care to enhance treatment perspectives for PMADs and related challenges.
Afternoon Session One | 12:45 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.
Jenna Berendzen, DNP, APRN, The Nightingale Center
- Part One
- Define perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADs) and differentiate them from the "baby blues."
- Identify the various types of PMADs, including postpartum depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and psychosis.
- Recognize the signs and symptoms of PMADs.
- Understand the risk factors and causes of PMADs, including hormonal changes, family history, and stressful life events.
- Understand the effects of untreated PMADs on the mother/pregnant person, fetus, and the family unit.
- Learn about available treatment options for PMADs, including therapy, medication, and support groups.
- Part Two
- Review of key points from the presentation Beyond the Baby Blues: Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders 101.
- Utilization of non-clinician team members (front desk staff, nursing staff etc.) for screening, psychoeducation, and care coordination on PMADs.
- Recommendations for care coordination between mental health clinicians (therapists, psychiatrists) and medical offices (primary care providers, OBGYN clinics) for treatment and management of PMADs.
- Education on resources and information for professionals and community members at the community, state, and national level on PMADs.
Afternoon Session Two | 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Rachael McGraw, DNP, RN, MN Department of Health
- Learners will understand how the maternal mortality review committee process develops recommendations designed to improve health outcomes for childbearing families.
- Learners will identify recommendations at multiple levels (provider, facility, system, policy & community) that could impact mental health outcomes for people in the childbearing year.
- Learners will make connections between MMRC recommendations and their mental health practices.
Meet Your Speakers:
Aurélie Athan, Ph.D. is an Associate Research Professor at Teachers College, Columbia University and clinical psychologist specializing in maternal and reproductive health. She is the co-founder of the Sexuality, Women, and Gender certificate program and has developed graduate-level curricula in these areas. Dr. Athan's research focuses on evolving conventional diagnostic approaches to reproductive life experiences, incorporating more positive, developmental, and lifespan-oriented frameworks. She revived the term matrescence (similar to adolescence) from anthropology and applied it to perinatal mental health to normalize the transition to motherhood and highlight its potential for resilience alongside risk. Her most recent theorizing includes the emerging concept of Reproductive Identity, introduced in 2020 in the American Psychologist. Her contributions have been featured in prominent public media outlets such as NPR, PBS’s WHYY, New York Magazine’s The Cut, and Forbes, among others.
Jenna Berendzen (she/her) is a double board-certified nurse practitioner in both psychiatry/mental health and family medicine. She received her Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from the University of Minnesota in 2019, Master of Nursing Practice from Allen College in 2011, and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Luther College in 1998. Prior to becoming an advanced practice nurse, she worked for several years in the public health sector. As an advanced practice nurse, she has experience in both reproductive/gender health and psychiatry. In 2022 she founded The Nightingale Center, a small private practice in NE in Iowa, where they provide comprehensive mental health and wellness services. She has post-graduate training in perinatal mental health including the 12-hour post-graduate PPD training and the Master Clinician Summit at the Postpartum Stress Center. She helped to found, and is a former board member of, the Iowa chapter of Postpartum Support International. She serves as an expert consultant and national speaker for Biogen-Sage, the makers of Zuranolone, the only FDA approved medication for PPD.
Dr. Rachael McGraw (she/her/hers) has been invested in the well-being of childbearing families for over 25 years. In her current role at the Minnesota Department of Health she is the Women’s Health Consultant where she coordinates the Maternal Mortality Review Committee and leads the state’s innovative pilot on severe maternal morbidity. As a visiting researcher at Children’s Minnesota, she piloted simulation training on evidence-based implicit bias mitigation strategies. In her clinical work her focus is on relationship-centered care that strives to partner with families. At the heart of her work is the belief that the way we care for families during the childbearing years deeply matters.
Not able to attend February 7th?No problem. Register for the recorded session and a link to view it will be emailed to you after the February 7th training.
Registration Questions: Email workforce@mnsu.edu or call 507-389-1094
Training Questions: Email elizabeth.harstad.3@mnsu.edu
Center for Workforce Professional Education
workforce@mnsu.edu
