Empowering Conversations: Online Therapy Links Postpartum Depression Patients with Survivors.
Lee-Anne Mosselman-Clarke has firsthand experience with the challenges of postpartum mental health struggles, having faced difficulties following the births of her two children.
“I have an 11 and 9-year-old, and I wasn’t aware that I was dealing with postpartum anxiety after my oldest was born. He faced significant health challenges, and I simply attributed it to the challenges of being a new mother,” she shared. “It wasn’t until I became pregnant with my second child that a midwife suggested I speak with someone because she believed I was at risk for postpartum depression again.”
Hailing from Brant County, Ontario, Canada, Mosselman-Clarke, with a background in social work, now serves as a postpartum doula, providing crucial support to women during pregnancy and childbirth. When she learned about a groundbreaking Canadian study involving group peer-delivered therapy for individuals dealing with postpartum depression, she eagerly applied and became a peer facilitator. Since then, these sessions have become her passion.
“The peer program offers a remarkable avenue for connecting with individuals who have faced similar struggles, free from judgment, guilt, or shame,” expressed Mosselman-Clarke. “It provides a chance to break the cycle of feeling isolated and alone.”
Published on August 31 in Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, the study yielded significant findings. Researchers discovered that postpartum depression patients who received treatment from their peers were 11 times more likely to achieve remission.
“We believe this work holds great significance for several reasons,” explained Dr. Ryan Van Lieshout, the lead author and an associate professor of psychiatry at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario. “One key aspect is that even though up to 1 in 5 birthing parents experience postpartum depression, as few as 1 in 10 receive the necessary treatment.”
As per the March of Dimes, women experiencing postpartum depression may endure persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, and exhaustion following childbirth, which can make it challenging to care for both themselves and their newborns.
The researchers emphasized that untreated postpartum depression can lead to severe consequences, including an elevated risk of emotional problems for both the mother and the child.
The study encompassed 183 new mothers residing in Ontario, who were identified as experiencing postpartum difficulties through the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. They were randomly divided into two groups: one receiving standard treatment alone and the other receiving standard treatment along with a nine-week online peer-delivered group cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention. Participants in the control group were placed on a waitlist for the peer-delivered group CBT, scheduled after the initial nine weeks.
Among those who immediately received group therapy, 64% met the criteria for major depressive disorder upon enrollment. After nine weeks of therapy, this figure decreased significantly to just 6%. Conversely, in the control group, 66% met the criteria for major depressive disorder at the study’s outset, with 43% still meeting the criteria after the nine-week period.
Peer facilitators, including Mosselman-Clarke, underwent a three-day training program in preparation for the intervention. They also observed the nine-week intervention conducted by experts in a hospital setting before delivering the intervention in pairs.
Dr. Thalia Robakis, a psychiatrist at Mount Sinai in New York City, praised the study’s novelty in addressing accessibility issues. She stated, “Psychotherapy is a well-established intervention for depression, including postnatal depression. New mothers often struggle to access it due to the difficulty in finding individual therapists, their busy schedules, and the demands of caring for a young infant.”
Robakis also highlighted the potential challenges in implementing a similar curriculum in the United States, where universal healthcare is not in place.
