Perinatal Psychiatry: In-Depth Modules for Enhanced Approaches (January 2022)

This course will focus on the diagnosis and treatment of psychiatric disorders in women across pregnancy and the postpartum. Specialized knowledge is necessary to tailor treatments to reproductive events such as pregnancy, pregnancy planning, and the postpartum. Exposure to psychotropic medications and the consequence of untreated psychiatric disorders must be considered when treating pregnant women, those who may become pregnant during treatment, and those who are breastfeeding (Griogoriadis et al., 2018). Up to date and comprehensive knowledge is required to help patients make collaborative and individualized treatment decisions (MacQueen et al., 2016). A strong understanding of the literature pertaining to the reproductive safety of medications is imperative to factoring in potential risks and benefits of medication, and context is particularly critical in putting risks into perspective (Stevens et al., 2019). Focused material will also be presented regarding specialized psychotherapies utilized during pregnancy and the postpartum, as well as an overview of embryology and obstetrics informing a broad range of care modalities. Learning in this course will be facilitated by didactic materials delivered by the faculty from the MGH Center for Women’s Mental Health. Faculty will also provide question and answer and case-based discussion sessions for course participants. Readings to accompany course materials will also be provided.