Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Linnea Mavrides, Psy.D.

Second Advisor

Eva Feindler, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Lilly Magid, Psy.D.

Abstract

Approximately 800,000 women in the United States yearly suffer from maternal mental health (MMH) conditions (Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance, 2020). Not only is MMH the most common complication of pregnancy and childbirth, but rates have increased with the COVID-19 pandemic causing pregnant women and new mothers to be even more vulnerable to developing mental health problems (Thapa et al., 2020). Research on the consequences of the pandemic have indicated a pressing demand on the field of psychology to meet the needs of individuals suffering from maternal mental health. Various challenges healthcare professionals face when working with the perinatal population are presented; yet there is a lack of literature on psychotherapists' own emotional difficulties when working with the perinatal population. In this study, we employed a qualitative approach to investigate the impact of working with the perinatal population on thirteen female clinicians who had a minimum of three months' experience in this field. For clinicians who were also mothers, it was required that they had encountered perinatal clients before becoming parents themselves. Participants reflected on their personal experiences as clinicians working with the perinatal population. The data were analyzed utilizing Auerbach and Silverstein’s (2013) grounded theory methodology to make recommendations to support perinatal clinicians, assist with the development of training programs, and inform future clinicians joining the field.

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