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S26-211 Behavioral Health and Birthing Folks: Mental Health Screening in Perinatal and Neonatal Medical Settings

Total Credits: 3 Category I CEs

Categories:
200 Adults, Couples & Families |  700 Professional Growth & Development
Instructor:
Dr. LaTrice L. Dowtin, Ph.D., LCPC, NCSP, RPT-S, PMH-C, PCIT-Within Agency Trainer
Course Levels:
Intermediate
Duration:
3 Hours 15 Minutes
Target Audience:
Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists
Dates
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Description

Very often when families learn that the newest member of their family needs time in the NICU, panic strikes. Research shows that infant medical severity has no influence over family mental health during a NICU stay or a complicated pregnancy, labor, and/or delivery. That means, whether an infant simply needs more time to grow and feed in the NICU or extra monitoring, or if the birthing person has a high-risk pregnancy, family members may experience diagnosable conditions, such as acute stress disorder, anxiety (or postpartum anxiety), major depressive disorder, or even post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) related to their infant’s hospitalization or the birthing person’s condition leading up to and following birth. These diagnoses have been shown to negatively impact infant outcomes, resulting in longer NICU stays, limited skin-to-skin contact, even later developmental delays, and parenting challenges. In this session, attendees will improve their ability to accurately refer families for behavioral health services. Parental mental health, infant–parent bonding, and developmental care practices will be discussed so that you can help families gain positive health outcomes during their time in perinatal and neonatal medical settings. Racial, cultural, and linguistic considerations will be reviewed.     

 

This workshop is in accordance and in compliance with the NASW standards with a focus on the principles of service, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, and competence; and the standard of responsibilities to clients, practice setting, as professionals, to the social work profession, and to the broader society. 

This workshop is in compliance with the Maryland Board of Social Work Examiners’ COMAR 10.42.03.06.A(5) and with the District of Columbia Board of Social Work 17-70-7008.4.    

District of Columbia: This workshop meets the continuing education requirement for DC Public Health Priorities in the following topic: 1. Sexual and Reproductive Health 

Instructor

Dr. LaTrice L. Dowtin, Ph.D., LCPC, NCSP, RPT-S, PMH-C, PCIT-Within Agency Trainer Related Seminars and Products

Dr. LaTrice L. Dowtin is a Black cisgender woman who believes in the ongoing pursuit of humility and social justice. She is a licensed clinical psychologist, licensed clinical professional counselor, nationally certified school psychologist, and Registered Play Therapist-SupervisorTM who specializes in perinatal, infant mental health (IMH), and trauma populations with a special focus on culturally, racially, and linguistically marginalized people of the global majority.  Dr. Dowtin is a native African American Vernacular English speaker, fluent in US English, and is proficient in American Sign Language.    

Over the course of the past 25 years, she carved out a career as an early childhood specialist in the area of social-emotional development for young children and families. She has held such positions as preschool teacher, infant care specialist, Center Director of an early care program, early childhood mental health consultant, early childhood trauma and family therapist, adjunct faculty in an early childhood teacher education program, Deaf infant-parent support group facilitator, school psychologists, therapist, and invited presenter at University of California San Francisco, Bowie State University, and Cornell University.   

For graduate education, Dr. Dowtin was educated at Bowie State University (BSU), which is Maryland's oldest Historically Black University where the focus of the intersection of race, culture, and identity is deeply embedded throughout the curriculum. Following school psychology and counselor training at BSU, Dr. Dowtin continued learning clinical psychology at Gallaudet University where she had the opportunity to train at Children’s National in their child development clinic conducting consultations in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) and neonatal follow-up assessments for a predominantly Black community. Dr. Dowtin's additional training at the Lourie Center for Children's Social Emotional Wellness afforded her the opportunity to support children and families with severe trauma backgrounds while working with children and families at the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore City, Maryland. She then completed a clinical psychology doctoral internship at Tulane University School of Medicine with a focus on families and infant mental health for trauma survivors in the city of New Orleans. Following internship, Dr. Dowtin completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship at Stanford University in the NICU focusing on perinatal and infant mental health.    

Since 2019, she has been an active member of the National Perinatal Association in conjunction  with the National Network of NICU Psychologists (NNNP), where she serves as the Co-Chair. Through NNNP, Dr. Dowtin was the Co-Chair of the Training and Education Committee dedicated to educating the next generation of practitioners in anti-racism and cultural responsiveness. She is also a published researcher and author with several book chapters and peer-reviewed journal articles on topics related to implicit bias, clinical supervision, play therapy, racial and social justice, NICU, perinatal mental health, and education justice for young Black children. She is the former Director of the Infants, Toddlers, and Families Graduate Certificate program at Gallaudet University where she also taught for several years establishing a standard for unpacking race and marginalization their courses. She is also co-developer of a Trauma-Informed Preschool Supports (TIPS ECHO) program through Adventist HealthCare’s The Lourie Center for Children’s Social and Emotional Wellness.   

Currently, Dr. Dowtin is the co-chair of the National Network of NICU Psychologists and is on the Medical Advisory Board for Hope for HIE. She is the Executive Director and CEO of a growing trauma-focused private practice, PlayfulLeigh Psyched, LLC, founded in 2018 and works from a social justice and trauma-based framework. Given her background, training, and lived experiences as a Black woman in the US, Dr. Dowtin is passionate about eradicating racial injustices for historically marginalized populations, disrupting the generational transmission of trauma, and facilitating healthy social-emotional development from conception through adulthood.   

Agenda & Learning Objectives

AGENDA:

12:50 pm – 1:00 pm Log on  

1:00 pm – 4:15 pm  

Presenter Introductions - 5 minutes   

What is Behavioral Health in Perinatal & Infant Medical Settings? - 30 minutes    

  • Define behavioral health in medical settings (e.g., NICU, Maternity, OBGYN)    

  • Roles of psychology/counseling vs social work in many US hospital systems    

  • Brief introduction into infant mental health    

What is the Impact of Behavioral Health in Perinatal and Infant Medical Settings? - 30 minutes    

  • Discuss infant outcomes    

  • Examine infant-parent relational bonding in the NICU    

Break - 15 minutes    

What Are Perinatal Mental Health Disorders (PMADS)? - 30 minutes    

  • Review common PMADs    

When to refer to Behavioral Health in Perinatal and Infant Medical Settings? 30 - minutes    

  • Explore common diagnostic outcomes for NICU families    

  • Examine signs of significant parental distress    

  • Brief review of select screening tools    

What Interventions Are There? - 30 minutes    

  • Review common interventions    

  • Birthing person    

  • Infant-parent interventions   

Conclusions - 25 minutes    

  • Clinical Discussion questions    

  • General Q & A and discussion  

4:15 pm Adjournment  

 

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:

Upon the completion of this workshop, participants will be able to:

  • Define behavioral health in perinatal and neonatal settings.       

  • Recognize common assessment tools for screening in perinatal and neonatal family mental health.       

  • Identify two cultural considerations when referring patients and families for behavioral and mental health consults in perinatal and neonatal settings.       

  • Recall three ways that medical practitioners can support infant–parent bonding in the NICU.      

Bibliography & References

BIBLIOGRAPHY & REFERENCES

Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (2020). ACGME program requirements for graduate medical education in neonatal-perinatal medicine. https://www.acgme.org/Portals/0/PFAssets/ProgramRequirements/329_NeonatalPerinatalMedicine_2020.pdf?ver=2020-06-29-162707-410       

Ahqvist-Björkroth, S., Axelin, A., Korja, R., & Lehtonen, L. (2019). An educational intervention for NICU staff decreased maternal postpartum depression. Pediatric research, 85(7), 982-986. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-019-0306-y     

Ahlqvist-Björkroth, S., Boukydis, Z., Axelin, A. M., & Lehtonen, L. (2017). Close collaboration with parentsTM intervention to improve parents’ psychological well-being and child development: description of the intervention and study protocol. Behavioural Brain Research, 325, 303-310. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bbr.2016.10.020     

Brignoni-Pérez, E., Scala, M., Marchman, V., Feldman, H.M., and Travis, K.E. (October, 2020). Disparities in Kangaroo Care for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Annual Meeting of Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Virtual.    

Brignoni-Pérez, E., Scala, M., Feldman, H. M., Marchman, V. A., & Travis, K. E. (2022). Disparities in kangaroo care for premature infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 43(5), e304-e311.    

Cella, D., Lai, J. S., Nowinski, C. J., Victorson, D., Peterman, A., Miller, D., Bethoux, F., Heinemann, A., Rubin, S., Cavazos, J. E., Reder, A. T., Sufit, R., Simuni, T., Holmes, G. L., Siderowf, A., Wojna, V., Bode, R., McKinney, N., Podrabsky, T., Wortman, K., ... Moy, C. (2012). Neuro-QOL: brief measures of health-related quality of life for clinical research in neurology. Neurology, 78(23), 1860–1867. https://doi.org/10.1212/WNL.0b013e318258f744     

Cox, J. L., Holden, J. M., & Sagovsky, R. (1987). Detection of postnatal depression: Development of the 10-item Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. British Journal of Psychiatry, 150, 782-786.  

Dempsey, A. G., Cole, J. C., & Saxton, S. N. (2022). Behavioral Health services with high-risk infants and families: Meeting the needs of patients, families, and providers in fetal, neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal follow-up settings. Oxford University Press.    

Dowtin, L. L., Willis, T., Givrad, S., & Scala, M. (2022, August). Teaching and training developing professionals in perinatal and neonatal settings. In Behavioral health services with high-risk infants and families: meeting the needs of patients, families, and providers in fetal, neonatal intensive care unit, and neonatal follow-up settings (p. 82). Oxford University Press.    

Hall, S. L., Cross, J., Selix, N. W., Patterson, C., Segre, L., Chuffo-Siewert, R., ... & Martin, M. L. (2015). Recommendations for enhancing psychosocial support of NICU parents through staff education and support. Journal of Perinatology, 35(1), S29-S36. https://doi.org/10.1038/jp.2015.147     

Horwitz, S. M., Storfer-Isser, A., Kerker, B. D., Szilagyi, M., Garner, A., O'Connor, K. G., ... & Stein, R. E. (2015). Barriers to the identification and management of psychosocial problems: changes from 2004 to 2013. Academic Pediatrics, 15(6), 613-620. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2015.08.006     

Kroenke, K. & Spitzer, R.L. (2002). The PHQ-9: A new depression and diagnostic severity measure. Psychiatric Annals, 32, 509-521.    

Lin, L., Stamm, K., & Christidis, P. (2018, February). How diverse is the psychology workforce? Monitor on Psychology, 49(2). http://www.apa.org/monitor/2018/02/datapoint     

McMillan, J. A., Land, M., & Leslie, L. K. (2017). Pediatric residency education and the behavioral and mental health crisis: a call to action. Pediatrics, 139(1), e20162141.    

Moreyra, A., Dowtin, L. L., Ocampo, M., Perez, E., Borkovi, T. C., Wharton, E., ... & Shaw, R. J. (2021). Implementing a standardized screening protocol for parental depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Early Human Development, 154, 105279.    

Osborne, L. M., Hermann, A., Burt, V., Driscoll, K., Fitelson, E., Meltzer-Brody, S., ... & National Task Force on Women’s Reproductive Mental Health. (2015). Reproductive psychiatry: the gap between clinical need and education. American Journal of Psychiatry, 172(10), 946-948. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2015.15060837     

Pados, B. F., & McGlothen-Bell, K. (2019). Benefits of infant massage for infants and parents in the NICU. Nursing for Women's Health, 23(3), 265-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2019.03.004     

Pang, E. M., Sey, R., De Beritto, T., Lee, H. C., & Powell, C. M. (2021). Advancing health equity by translating lessons learned from nicu family visitations during the COVID-19 pandemic. NeoReviews, 22(1), e1-e6. https://doi.org/10.1542/neo.22-1-e1     

Postpartum Support International. https://postpartum.net   

Quinnell, F. A., & Hynan, M. T. (1999). Convergent and discriminant validity of the Perinatal PTSD Questionnaire (PPQ): A preliminary study. Journal of Traumatic  Stress, 12(1), 193–199. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024714903950    

Saxton, S. N., Dempsey, A. G., Willis, T., Baughcum, A. E., Chavis, L., Hoffman, C., ... & Steinberg, Z. (2019). Essential knowledge and competencies for psychologists working in neonatal intensive care units. Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings, 1-12. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10880-019-09682-8     

Scala, M. (2021). Evaluation of a course for neonatal fellows on providing psychosocial support to NICU families. Poster. Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting. May 1-4, 2021    

Shaw, R. J., & Horwitz, S. (Eds.). (2020). Treatment of psychological distress in parents of premature infants: PTSD in the NICU. American Psychiatric Pub.  

Sigurdson, K., Mitchell, B., Liu, J., Morton, C., Gould, J. B., Lee, H. C., ... & Profit, J. (2019). Racial/ethnic disparities in neonatal intensive care: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 144(2), e20183114. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-3114     

Weathers, F.W., Litz, B.T., Keane, T.M., Palmieri, P.A., Marx, B.P., & Schnurr, P.P. (2013). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.  

Course Completion & CE Information

Category I Maryland BSWE Requirement

The Office of Continuing Professional Education at the University of Maryland School of Social Work is authorized by the Board of Social Work Examiners in Maryland to sponsor social work continuing education programs. This workshop qualifies for 3 Category I Continuing Education Units. The Office of Continuing Professional Education is also authorized by the Maryland Board of Psychologists and the Maryland Board of Professional Counselors to sponsor Category A continuing professional education. 

 

ASWB Information 

University of Maryland School of Social Work Office of Continuing Professional Education, #1611, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 2/11/2024-2/11/2027.  

To receive ACE credit, full attendance is required; no partial credits will be given for partial attendance. 

 

Certificate Access

To access the evaluation and certificate, click on the orange certificate button in your CPE account. Once you complete the evaluation, access to the certificate will be available.  

Live Interactive Webinars (Cat I) and Live Webinars (Cat II) - Allow up to 30 minutes post-training for attendance to be verified, then you will be able to access the evaluation and certificate. 

In Person Trainings - Please allow five (5) business days post-training for attendance to be verified, then you will be able to access the evaluation and certificate. 

 

Please refer to the tab "Live Interactive Webinar Policies & FAQs" for UMSSW Office of CPE policies regarding all live interactive webinar related matters. Contact our office at cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu for more information.  

Evaluation

Participants will have access to the evaluation after attendance has been verified. Evaluations will be available for one (1) week after the workshop has ended.  

After one (1) week, participants will no longer have access to the evaluation and will have to contact CPE about reactivation.

Target Audience

Social Workers, LCPCs, and Psychologists

We welcome anyone interested in the topic!

 

Live Interactive Webinar Platforms

LIVE INTERACTIVE WEBINAR PLATFORMS

The Office of Continuing Professional Education hosts Live Interactive Webinars through Zoom. This platform offers a high quality and user-friendly webinar platform for our registrants.

System Requirements:

  • Operating Systems: Windows XP or higher; MacOS 9 or higher; Android 4.0 or higher.
  • Internet Browser: Google Chrome; Firefox 10.0 or higher.

Our system is not compatible with the Safari web browser.

  • Broadband Internet Connection: Cable, High-speed DSL and any other medium that is internet accessible.

**Please have your device charging at all times to ensure that your device does not lose power during the webinar.

Course Interaction Requirements:

To participate in Live Interactive Webinars, you MUST have a device that allows you to view the presentation on screen and hear the instructor at all times. We do not allow participants to call-in from their phones or mobile devices and solely listen to the presentation. Participation in Live Interactive Webinars is mandatory.

Our webinar policies can be found on our website by clicking here.

Webinar Policies & FAQs

Click The Link to View The Webinar Policies & FAQs

https://umbsswcpe.ce21.com/Page/live-interactive-webinar-procedures-policies-4129

 

 

Code of Conduct

The Office of Continuing Professional Education at the University of Maryland School of Social Work adheres to the NASW Code of Ethics. This policy is to ensure that the training environment for social work professionals remains respectful, productive, and conducive to learning. Disruptive behavior that interferes with the learning process, disrupts the training experience for others, or undermines the integrity of the program will not be tolerated.

 

Expectations for Participant Engagement:

In alignment with the NASW Code of Ethics and the University of Maryland Baltimore Code of Conduct, participants are expected to demonstrate professionalism, which includes respecting confidentiality, maintaining a collaborative and respectful tone, and contributing positively to the group dynamic. Disclosures made during the training (e.g., case studies or personal reflections) must be handled with care and in accordance with ethical and legal guidelines.

All participants in the training program are expected to:

  • Engage actively in the learning process and show respect for the opinions and contributions of others.
  • Demonstrate professionalism in both attitude and behavior, maintaining respect for instructors, peers, and the training environment.
  • Maintain open communication by expressing concerns or disagreements constructively and respectfully.
  • Follow the guidelines and expectations provided by instructors and facilitators.
  • Support a collaborative learning environment where all participants feel valued and safe to contribute.

 

Instructors and CPE staff reserve the right to dismiss participants who do not adhere to ethical/professional principles and standards. If removed, CEs will be adjusted to reflect the time attended, unless otherwise specified. 

ADA Accommodations

To request ADA accommodations:

Please email our office at least four (4) weeks before the workshop. Late requests may not be accommodated.

Our email address is cpe@ssw.umaryland.edu.  

Late Fees and Refunds

The base price is $70, which includes CE credit.  

Late Fee: On 07/17/26, a non-refundable late fee of $20 is added to the base price. Late fees cannot be refunded or applied to account credit.  

Cancellations: **ALL cancellations will be subjected to a $35.00 administration fee.**  To be eligible for a refund or CPE account credit, cancellations must be made at least 24 hours before the workshop. 

For more information, please read the general policies on our website.  

 

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