The Well Mind is a space for meaningful conversations about a broad range of wellness related topics and this episode is a beautiful example of that mission. I’m your host Dr. Ben Kohls. I’ve been a practicing clinical mental health counselor for over 15 years and am currently a counselor educator and director for the CMHC graduate program at Bethany Lutheran College. My guest for this episode is Elizabeth DeBolt. She is a professor and researcher from Liberty University and has truly invested herself in the topic of maternal mental health for a number of years now. The knowledge and compassion that Elizabeth has for this topic is truly outstanding. She has presented on this topic multiple times at national conferences and I feel really blessed to share her with the Well Mind community. Pregnancy and birth are life altering experiences that bring change to roles, responsibilities, identity, and relationships. There is, what I perceive to be, a good amount of focus on mom and baby from a physical health basis and preparing for the arrival of the baby, but less attention is given to the shifts in identity and the impacts this experience has on emotional wellbeing. If you are thinking that maternal mental health is a ‘just for moms’ episode, I’m going to ask you to suspend that perspective and listen in, because this episode is for everyone. Moms, Dads, those planning for and hoping to be parents in the future, anyone that knows and cares about a mom or dad, and certainly all those in the church community that desire to support parents. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth DeBolt in Episode 38: Maternal Mental Health.

Notes from Episode 38

Postpartum Support International- https://www.postpartum.net/

Postpartum Progress- https://postpartumprogress.com/   

The Blue Dot Project- https://www.thebluedotproject.org/

Mass. Gen Hospital for Women’s Mental Health- https://womensmentalhealth.org/

The Well Mind Podcast email: thewellmind@blc.edu