The Mass. PPD Fund in partnership with Strong Roots Counseling is pleased to announce a free, virtual two-hour training for providers on perinatal mental health, screening, treatment approaches, and resources. 

This training is appropriate for a range of providers serving pregnant, postpartum and post-adoptive families, including: lactation counselors, doulas, medical assistants, WIC staff, home visitors, Community Health Workers, Social Workers, and others. Our panel will provide a specific emphasis on serving BIPOC parents, barriers to care, and culturally appropriate treatment resources. The program will also offer access to a prescriber to address ways to approach medication questions for pregnant and lactating people. 

PRESENTERS:

Caroline Flowers Tomekowou, MEd, LMHC, PMH-C: Scope of Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorders (PMADs), Resources, and Barriers to Care with a Focus on BIPOC Parents

Mara Acel-Green, MSW, LICSW: Evidence-Based Treatment Approaches including Individual Therapy and Group Support

Jenise L. Katalina, MSW, LICSW: Considerations for Screening Tools

Dr. Lucy Chie, MD, MPH: Integration of Screening and Supports into the Health Care Setting

Dr. Leena Mittal, MD, FACLP: Accessing Consultation and Referral Resources Through MCPAP for Moms, and Best Practices for Medication for Pregnant and Nursing People

There will be an opportunity for Q&A and discussion with the speaker of your choice in breakout rooms after these presentations. Resource lists will also be provided.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTORS:

Caroline B. Flowers Tomekowou, MEd, LMHC, PMH-C: Caroline B. Flowers Tomekowou is a Worcester-based Licensed Mental Health Counselor with a focus on perinatal mental health. She is an outpatient therapist at Advance Psych Services and an emergency services clinician at Community Healthlink, both in Worcester. Caroline also serves as the Program Director for Postpartum Support International of Massachusetts, and offers workshops and trainings on Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMADs) for various professionals supporting families in their reproductive phases.

Mara Acel-Green, MSW, LICSW: Mara Acel-Green is a psychotherapist and owner of Strong Roots Counseling. Mara has experience providing specialty treatment with  mood and anxiety disorders during the pregnancy and postpartum (perinatal) period. In addition to her private practice and adjunct faculty position at Northeastern University (2006-2020), Mara provides trainings and workshops for clinicians, childbirth professionals, and families. Mara also has created a Post-Master’s certificate for the use of CBT for Perinatal Emotional Complications.

Jenise L. Katalina, MSW, LICSW: Jenise Katalina is the Vice President of the Board of Directors and Co-Executive Director for the Women of Color Health Equity Collective, a movement building nonprofit organization based out of Western Mass that is focused on supporting women and girls of color achieving their optimal health and well-being. Jenise is a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker in Massachusetts and a certified trainer in multiple trauma focused models, specifically focusing on multi-generational families. Jenise provides clinical support and coaching to youth, adolescents and adults exploring their racial identity, career and mental health while utilizing a liberation and social justice lens. Jenise’s past experience includes the role of Healthy Families Resource Specialist at the Children’s Trust, a statewide agency focused on stopping child abuse in Massachusetts, where she provided training and technical assistance to program management across the state with a focus on implementing policies and practice with a racial equity lens. Before joining the Children’s Trust, Jenise served as the Vice President of Family Services at Square One, a community based non-profit in Springfield, Massachusetts. Jenise’s prior experience includes management roles within residential programs for latency-age children and gang aversion programs for teen youth in Springfield. Jenise Katalina serves on multiple interdisciplinary workgroups and initiatives focused on Racial Equity at the state and community level. She also serves as an adjunct faculty for the Springfield College Master Social Work program. 

Dr. Lucy Chie, MD, MPH: Dr. Lucy Chie is the OBGYN Director at South Cove Community Health Center. She leads the OBGYN Community Health Initiative at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School.     

Dr. Leena Mittal, MD, FACLP: Dr. Leena Mittal is the Chief of the Division of Women’s Mental Health at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, and serves as the Program Director for the Women’s Mental Health Fellowship at the Brigham. Additionally, Dr Mittal is the Associate Medical Director for the Massachusetts Child Psychiatry Access Program for Moms (MCPAP for Moms), an innovative statewide consultation service for providers seeing pregnant and postpartum women with mental health and substance use conditions. Dr Mittal has numerous publications and speaks nationally on the treatment of mental health and substance use conditions throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Dr. Mittal is board certified in psychiatry, psychosomatic medicine and addiction medicine.