Mother Baby Connection

January 12, 2018

Mother Baby Connection founders Bobbie Posmontier, PhD, CNM, PMHNP-BC and Pamela Geller, PhD Mother Baby Connections (MBC), one of only a few intensive outpatient clinics of its kind in the United States, and the only one in the mid-Atlantic region was started in November 2015 at Parkway Health and Wellness to provide care to women with postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety and other psychiatric symptoms. MBC is a multidisciplinary program led by CNHP faculty member Bobbie Posmontier, PhD, a board-certified Psychiatric Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, in collaboration with Pamela Geller, PhD, associate professor of psychology in Drexel’s College of Arts & Sciences. Since the program’s inception, it has helped 25 women with perinatal mental illness during multiple visits. The MBC faculty are helping to train a new generation of mental health professionals who are highly skilled in helping mothers feel better.

The program is unique for many reasons. It emphasizes the mother’s relationships with both her baby and partner and encourages moms to bring their infants to therapy. Babysitting is provided for infants when moms need to participate in other activities. Mothers choose a variety of treatment therapies including, individual therapy, mother-baby interaction therapy, group therapy, dance movement and art therapy, couples therapy, trauma therapy and medication evaluation. Another outcome of the program is the research data helping to identify the best methods to assess and treat mental health problems arising from pregnancy and postpartum.

What moms are saying:

It was so helpful being able to relate to other mothers dealing with some of the same issues.
The group therapy helped me realize I wasn’t the only person dealing with issues and that was reassuring.
I was able to talk about everything without judgment.
The program gave me active plans for coping, take-home applications and tasks.
Group therapy was fantastic for getting help from other mothers. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) was helpful for dealing with my issues more specifically. I also really enjoyed art therapy.
The individual CBT was an amazing resource; the ability to talk with caring, attentive professionals not only during CBT but also in all of the sessions such as Mother Baby Interaction Therapy and Dance, was a HUGE help to have a sounding board and support.
The Mother Baby Interaction Therapy was good reassurance and provided great ideas for play based on developmental stage; the dance and yoga were relaxing and grounding to get out of my anxious head and into my body.
The immersion aspect was helpful in taking risks to get out of the house. The group sessions over the summer were awesome for meeting and connecting with other moms.