Expanding Perinatal Mental Health Support at JPB Counseling

We are excited to celebrate an important professional milestone for Jenn Fuqua, LCSW. Jenn recently completed Postpartum Support International’s foundational and advanced training requirements in perinatal mental health, further strengthening the specialized support available to individuals and families at JPB Counseling.

Her training included 20 hours of evidence-based perinatal mental health education:

• A foundational Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Certificate Course

• Advanced training focused specifically on perinatal mental health psychotherapy

These courses fulfill the foundational and advanced education requirements toward Postpartum Support International’s Certification in Perinatal Mental Health, commonly known as the PMH-C. PSI requires psychotherapy-track candidates to complete at least 14 hours of foundational education and six hours of advanced specialty training before proceeding through the remaining certification process. Learn more about PSI’s PMH-C certification requirements.

Why Specialized Perinatal Mental Health Training Matters

Pregnancy and becoming a parent are often portrayed as joyful experiences. Joy may certainly be present, but the perinatal period can also bring significant emotional, physical, relational, and practical changes.

Perinatal mental health includes emotional well-being during pregnancy, after pregnancy or infant loss, and throughout the postpartum period. Challenges can emerge during pregnancy or after a baby arrives, even for someone who has never experienced mental health concerns before.

According to Postpartum Support International, approximately 1 in 5 women and 1 in 10 men may experience depression or anxiety during the perinatal period. These numbers may be even higher among parents experiencing elevated stress or limited access to support. Read more about perinatal mental health signs, symptoms, and treatment.

Perinatal mental health conditions may include:

• Depression

• Anxiety or panic attacks

• Obsessive-compulsive symptoms and distressing intrusive thoughts

• Post-traumatic stress following pregnancy or childbirth

• Bipolar mood disorders

• Grief following infertility, pregnancy loss, or infant loss

• Postpartum psychosis

These experiences are not a reflection of someone’s love for their baby or their ability to be a good parent. They are health conditions that deserve informed, compassionate care.

Perinatal Mental Health Can Look Different Than Expected

Not everyone experiencing a perinatal mental health condition appears visibly sad. Symptoms may instead include:

• Persistent worry or a sense that something bad will happen

• Anger, irritability, or rage

• Feeling disconnected from yourself or your baby

• Guilt, shame, or hopelessness

• Difficulty sleeping, even when given the opportunity

• Changes in appetite

• Loss of interest or enjoyment

• Feeling constantly on edge

• Unwanted or frightening intrusive thoughts

• Flashbacks or distress related to pregnancy, birth, or prior trauma

• Difficulty functioning at home, at work, or within relationships

Some changes in mood, sleep, and stress are expected during pregnancy and early parenthood. However, symptoms that feel intense, persist over time, interfere with daily life, or cause significant distress deserve attention.

You do not need to wait until you are in crisis or have a formal diagnosis to seek support. Perinatal mental health conditions are treatable, and reaching out early can make it easier to connect with appropriate care and resources. Explore PSI’s resources for individuals and families.

What Jenn’s Training Brings to Therapy

Specialized perinatal mental health education helps clinicians understand the unique ways mental health symptoms can emerge during pregnancy and postpartum. It also supports more informed assessment, treatment planning, and collaboration with other members of a client’s care team.

PSI’s foundational training addresses the identification and treatment of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, including depression, anxiety, OCD, trauma, bipolar disorders, and psychosis. It also covers screening, risk factors, treatment options, psychopharmacology considerations, breastfeeding, and the effects these conditions can have on partners and families. Review PSI’s foundational training objectives.

Jenn’s advanced psychotherapy training builds upon this foundation with a deeper focus on therapeutic care for the perinatal population.

This additional training complements Jenn’s warm, collaborative, and trauma-informed approach. She supports teens, adults, and couples navigating anxiety, depression, trauma, chronic health concerns, relationship challenges, and significant life transitions. Her expanded education allows her to offer more specialized support for concerns connected to pregnancy, postpartum adjustment, loss, identity changes, and the transition into parenthood.

Support for More Than New Mothers

Perinatal mental health care is not limited to postpartum depression, and it is not only for mothers.

Support may be helpful for:

• Individuals who are pregnant or postpartum

• Parents coping with infertility, pregnancy loss, or infant loss

• Partners experiencing depression, anxiety, or difficulty adjusting

• Parents processing a traumatic pregnancy or birth

• Individuals managing chronic illness alongside pregnancy or parenting

• Couples experiencing relationship strain during the transition to parenthood

• Parents struggling with identity, expectations, bonding, or returning to work

Sometimes therapy focuses on a clearly defined mental health condition. Other times, it provides a place to process an experience that feels harder, lonelier, or more complicated than expected.

You Are Not Alone

There is no single correct way to feel during pregnancy or after becoming a parent. Needing support does not mean you are failing. It means you are responding to a major life transition with the care and attention it deserves.

We are proud of Jenn’s commitment to expanding her knowledge and strengthening the perinatal mental health support available through JPB Counseling.

Jenn currently offers in-person and Telehealth counseling for clients in North Carolina. If you would like to learn more about working with Jenn, contact JPB Counseling to schedule a free 15-minute consultation.

For additional education, peer support, provider resources, and help connecting with care, visit Postpartum Support International.