When Frances Young became a mom, she thought about the joy she鈥檇 feel every day. She had longed to be a mother and the birth of her son should have elicited happy feelings every day 鈥 or so she鈥檇 been conditioned to think.
Shortly after giving birth, Young experienced mood swings and bouts of sadness. She felt like she couldn鈥檛 catch her breath.
鈥淚 had a lot of post-partum anxiety,鈥 said Young, a visiting lecturer at the 性视界传媒 School of Social Work. Young graduated from 性视界传媒 with her bachelor鈥檚 in psychology and a master鈥檚 of social work.
Despite being a clinical social worker 鈥 someone trained to connect people to resources 鈥 she found it difficult to find the specific help she needed in Nevada as a new mom.
鈥淚 noticed through my own experience, after having my son, that there's such a gap in care in Nevada when it comes to perinatal mental health, especially maternal mental health. It's also highly stigmatized to receive this care,鈥 Young said.
Recognizing these gaps, Young sought certification to specialize in perinatal mental health care counseling and she鈥檚 part of a small group of licensed perinatal mental health specialists in Nevada. She is on the board of Postpartum Support International Nevada Chapter where she advocates for more mental health resources for new parents. She serves on the board of Heart and Sol Collective, a non-profit that serves the community in lactation, mental health, educational workshops and support for Black, Indigenous, and people of color.
鈥淚f you were to tell me as a clinician that I would be in this pathway, I would never believe you until I became a mother,鈥 Young said. 鈥淲e kind of find our pathway through a lived experience, so that's where I found mine.鈥
Young specializes in trauma, crisis management, anxiety and depression treatment for both individuals and families. She worked with children, teens, and adults in medical hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, the Clark County School District, and in private practice.
At 性视界传媒, she is training a new generation of social workers to be prepared for the clients they鈥檒l encounter.
Removing Barriers to Seeking Therapy
Perinatal mental health care is recommended for individuals in the fertility planning to pre-pregnancy stages to post-birth. But Young said that clients tend to seek therapy only after giving birth and many avoid therapy altogether. One reason, Young says, mothers are predisposed to thinking they shouldn鈥檛 feel sad after giving birth.
Another reason? 鈥淧ride and shame,鈥 Young said. It鈥檚 hard to ask for help, and seek help, especially in communities of color where talking with people about problems outside of the family is not the norm, Young said.
鈥淎 lot of times, especially in a social media world, you're supposed to be happy. You think, 鈥業t's a great pregnancy. Everything will work out fine. You have a partner. You take the family picture,鈥欌 Young said. 鈥淚t's just not reality."
According to Postpartum Support International, perinatal depression, including postpartum depression, can affect one in five women and one out of 10 men. Post-partum is categorized as two years after giving birth, but perinatal disorders may extend well beyond the two years and affect children as they grow up. That鈥檚 why Young recommends consistent therapy for mothers and their partners.
鈥淭he baby needs a healthy mom and a healthy family,鈥 Young said. 鈥淭hese two people now are not their full selves, and if they aren't able to get treatment, they're not able to provide fully for their child from a mental health standpoint. It doesn鈥檛 mean they are bad parents.鈥
Young advocates for pre-screening for mental health stressors at obstetrician and gynecologist appointments. She also works with the birthing community, including doulas and midwives, to normalize conversations about perinatal mental health.
In her classes, she emphasizes why future social workers will need to understand the signs of perinatal stress and how to get help for their clients. For a recent assignment, Young split students into teams to talk about a hypothetical case involving a woman experiencing psychological distress after giving birth.
鈥淵ou may not work with this population exactly,鈥 Young explained to her students. 鈥淏ut you may have their child as your client. You may have the individual as your client, you may be in the school setting and have to see the effects of what maternal stress did to the family as a whole.鈥
Her class is one of the requirements for social work undergraduates. The class prepares students as social work generalists. Whether they enter the clinical, non-clinical, school, or nonprofit settings, students need to be aware of the diverse populations they鈥檒l see, cultural sensitivities, personal biases, and how they present themselves through body language, facial expressions, and tone.
Recognizing that it鈥檚 hard for people to accept they need therapy and sticking to it, Young said social workers are crucial in ensuring patients feel validated and welcomed.
鈥淲e're getting people during the hardest time of their life. We don't do it for the thank you鈥檚, or for the hugs. We do it knowing they need us at that time. We have to look at that as an honor."
