The struggles of parenting are often both hypervisible and unseen. Emotionally depleted parents, complete with a frazzled expression and hair gone haywire, crying baby in arm, are on television as quick jokes about the trials of parenthood. Pregnant people frequently hear dismissive speeches from friends and family that start with “just you wait” and end with deterministic visions of sleepless nights, cognitive impairment, and bodies forever changed. The message is often an indirect–but loud and strong–mandate to just deal with it.
At the same time, experiences of perinatal depression, anxiety, psychosis, and other mental health challenges are often hidden beneath stigma, shame, and underdiagnosis. Many people enter pregnancy knowing very little about the risks and realities of perinatal mental health conditions, despite these conditions being the most common complication of pregnancy. Yet these challenges are not inevitable. With education, early identification, collaborative care, and a well-prepared workforce, we can improve outcomes for parents, infants, and families.
The Perinatal Mental Health Certificate at Antioch University emerged from a shared commitment among Antioch University, the Coalition for the Common Good, and Postpartum Support International (PSI) to address a growing crisis in perinatal mental healthcare. Millions of birthing people live in perinatal mental health shortage areas (Britt et al., 2023) despite perinatal mood and anxiety disorders being the number one most common complication of pregnancy (Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health, 2024; PSI, 2024). Approximately one in five women experience a perinatal mood or anxiety disorder, with rural communities (Nidey et al., 2020), low-income families (Chaudron et al., 2010), and BIPOC populations facing particularly significant barriers to screening and treatment access (Kozhimannil et al., 2011; Rokicki et al., 2024).
Recognizing that no single profession can address this challenge alone, we intentionally designed the certificate as an interdisciplinary learning community. Counseling and therapy students, nursing students, social workers, doulas, lactation professionals, peer supports, and other healthcare providers are invited to learn together, creating a shared foundation for collaborative care. Our goal extends beyond training individual providers; we aim to strengthen the networks of support that families rely upon during pregnancy, postpartum, and early parenthood.
Aligning with PSI has been central to this effort. PSI provides specialized training, credentialing opportunities, advocacy, research support, and professional networks dedicated to advancing perinatal mental health care. Through this collaboration, Antioch’s certificate became the first university-based program in the nation to meet the educational requirements for PSI’s nationally recognized Perinatal Mental Health Certification (PMH-C). This pathway helps prepare graduates not only to recognize and treat perinatal mental health concerns, but also to serve as advocates and collaborators within their communities.
The impact of this work is already visible. Graduates of the program are providing specialized services in their communities, expanding access to screening and treatment, pursuing advanced credentialing, and building local networks of care.
With support from the Coalition for the Common Good, we will continue advocating for perinatal mental health education across counseling, healthcare, and community-based professions. Whether a parent presents at a counseling session, an OBGYN appointment, a lactation consultation, a pediatric visit, or a doula appointment, we envision a future where screening, education, referral pathways, and culturally responsive and trauma-informed care are readily available and accessible.
Every birthing person, infant, and family deserves to be held up by a community, and perinatal mental health is not solely the responsibility of mental health professionals. When educators, healthcare providers, policymakers, and community organizations work together, families are more likely to receive the support they need to thrive. We look forward to seeing ours continue to grow. Through partnerships like those fostered by the Coalition of the Common Good, we can continue building systems of support that ensure no one has to navigate the challenges of the perinatal period alone.
LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAM
Our Perinatal Mental Health Certificate doesn’t just enhance your résumé—it empowers you to be a lifeline to families during their most vulnerable moments. Counselors, marriage and family therapists, nurses, and allied health professionals have worked together in cross-disciplinary collaboration. This one-year certificate offers classes online and synchronously to meet you where you are.
This certificate is supported by PMH-C prepared counseling faculty, nursing faculty, and community partner lecturers from a wide range of health disciplines.
Erin Berzins, PhD, LMHC – Director of Clinical Training, CMHC Low-Residency Program; Clinical Mental Health Counseling; Graduate School of Counseling, Psychology & Therapy
Natashia Collins, PhD, LPC, ACS, NCC, PMH-C – Core Faculty, Perinatal Mental Health Certificate Coordinator; School of Counseling, Psychology, and Therapy (CPT); Counseling Division
References
Britt, R., Burkhard, J., Murphy, C., & Childers, A. (2023, November). U.S. “Maternal Mental Health Dark Zones” – Counties with the highest risk and lowest resources revealed. Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. https://www.issuelab.org/resources/42984/42984.pdf
Chaudron, L. H., Szilagyi, P. G., Tang, W., Anson, E., Talbot, N. L., Wadkins, H. I. M., Tu, X., & Wisner, K. L. (2010). Accuracy of depression screening tools for identifying postpartum depression among urban mothers. Pediatrics, 125(3), e609-617. doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-3261
Kozhimannil, K. B., Trinacty, C. M., Busch, A. B., Huskamp, H. A., & Adams, A. S. (2011). Racial and ethnic disparities in postpartum depression care among low-income women. Psychiatric Services, 62(6), 619–625. https://doi.org/10.1176/ps.62.6.pss6206_0619
Nidey, N., Tabb, K. M., Carter, K. D., Bao, W., Strathearn, L., Rohlman, D. S., Wehby, G., & Ryckman, K. (2020). Rurality and risk of perinatal depression among women in the United States. The Journal of Rural Health, 36(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12401
Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health. (2024, December 28). 2024 Annual Impact Report. https://policycentermmh.org/2024-annual-impact-report/
Postpartum Support International. (2024, July). Your partner in perinatal mental health [PDF]. https://www.postpartum.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Professionals-PSI_7.2024_Postpartum-Factsheets-Print.pdf
Rokicki, S., Patel, M., Suplee, P. D., & D’Oria, R. (2024). Racial and ethnic disparities in access to community-based perinatal mental health programs: Results from a cross-sectional survey. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1094. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18517-7
