Wednesday, September 17, 2008: 6:00-8:00PM
"Becoming a Calm Mom: Using CBT Techniques to Help Moms Adjust to the First Year of Motherhood.”
Deborah Roth Ledley, Ph.D.
Associate Director of the Adult Anxiety Clinic of Temple University, Clinician at the Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety, Licensed Psychologist
When you ask a woman how
she is enjoying being a new mom, most talk about the
sheer bliss they are experiencing. New moms describe
having a baby as, “The best thing I’ve ever done” or
“The most wonderful time in my life”. Do all new moms
really feel this way? In reality, becoming a
mother is a much more complex emotional experience.
Along with the blissful moments (which are indeed
plentiful!), being a new mom is associated with numerous
challenges from learning how to care for a baby, making
decisions about how to balance work and home, and
navigating important relationships. In this talk, we
will discuss how the social pressures to discuss only
the blissful parts of new motherhood can actually
increase the likelihood that new moms will feel anxious,
isolated and frustrated during this life transition.
Attendees will learn about the factors that make new
motherhood challenging and will learn to distinguish
normal role adjustment from clinically significant
postpartum depression and anxiety. Attendees will also
learn Six Simple Strategies that they can teach to
patients to help them more smoothly navigate the
transition from "Me" to "Mom".
At the completion of this talk, participants will be able to:
1. Identify the stressors associated with being a new mom. This will include a discussion of the social pressures to discuss only the "good stuff" associated with being a new mom and how these social pressures can increase the probability that new moms will feel anxious, isolated and frustrated during this exciting, but potentially daunting, life transition.
2. Discriminate between the "normal" ups and downs that new moms experience, the "baby blues," and clinically significant problems with postpartum mood and anxiety disorders.
3. Use Six Simple Strategies that they can share with patients to help them adjust to the first year of motherhood. These strategies are derived from cognitive-behavioral therapy techniques, as well as from the latest work in the field of acceptance and commitment therapy.
Deborah Roth Ledley, Ph.D. is a psychologist at the Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety in Plymouth Meeting, PA specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders in children, adolescents, and adults. Dr. Ledley has done research on the nature and treatment of anxiety, publishing over 40 scientific papers and book chapters, as well as three academic books. Her book, Making Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Work, has sold over 8000 copies and is used as a textbook in many clinical psychology training programs in the United States and Canada. After welcoming her first child in 2005, Dr. Ledley became interested in the use of cognitive behavioral techniques to help new moms adjust to this exciting, but potentially daunting life event. This interest sparked the development of a website called TheCalmMom.com, as well as a book that will be published by the American Psychological Association Press in the Fall of 2008, tentatively titled, Becoming a Calm Mom: Six Simple Strategies for Enjoying The First Year of Motherhood.
PHILADELPHIA BEHAVIOR THERAPY ASSOCIATION