Perinatal mood and anxiety disorders like Postpartum Depression and Anxiety are the most common complications of the childbearing period. BIPOC communities experience significant barriers to mental healthcare which increases the risk for these complications. For many children, a caregiver experiencing an untreated mental health condition will become their first ACE. This presentation creates a space to raise awareness and discuss the intersection of ACEs, race, and perinatal mental health. 

Objectives:

1. Review perinatal mental health diagnoses, symptoms and risk factors;

2. Explore the importance of screening and identifying when referrals are needed;

3. Examine ways to practice Cultural Humility;

4. Discuss how to optimize resilience for BIPOC communities;

5. List provider action steps to promote Black Maternal Mental Health.

Student discount and sliding scale available. Please contact us at chicagominds@gmail.com for details.

Workshop participants who opt to receive CE certification, please select the CEU option. This workshop fulfills requirement for 1.5 CE credits. CE sponsorship is approved by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR), credits are applicable to LCSW and transferrable to LCPC in Illinois. If you have a different licensure or are licensed outside of Illinois, please check with your licensure body before purchasing.

Please note that we require your live attendance in order to issue CE certificates. If you are unable to attend live, please let us know at least 24 hours before the event.

About the Speakers

Kima Tozay is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Certified Grief Counseling Specialist, and a bereaved mom. She supports and advocates for families impacted by infertility and pregnancy and infant loss. A military Social Worker/ therapist, Kima supervises licensed military social workers, DV advocates and home visitors for the Navy Counseling and Advocacy Program. As an advocate for maternal mental health, Kima and a team of bereaved mothers were instrumental in getting Certificate of Birth Resulting in Stillbirth legislation passed in Washington State in April 2021. She is Board Chair-Elect for Return to Zero Hope, a national non-profit organization raising awareness about Pregnancy Loss. She also volunteers her time facilitating support groups with bereaved parents. Kima is also Secretary of PSI Washington State Chapter Advisory Committee and member of Snohomish County’s Perinatal Mental Health Taskforce.

Meyleen Velasquez, LCSW, PMH-C, RPT-S is an immigrant Latinx psychotherapist specializing in perinatal and infant mental health. She is a social work doctoral student focusing her research on anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices in mental health. Her practice supports women and clinicians working on practicing from an anti-oppressive framework. Meyleen identified as a Brown person for most of her life until several years ago when Vitiligo changed the way she navigates the world.