Who We Are
Who We Are
About DC Metro Perinatal
Mental Health Collaborative
About Us
The DC Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative (DCPMHC) is a non-profit, volunteer-run organization made up of mental health professionals (Psychotherapists, Psychiatrists, and Researchers) in the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia who treat, study, and educate about the emotional and psychological issues specific to the perinatal period.
Our Story
The DCPMHC was founded in 2009 by Barbara Byers, MD, and Aimee Danielson, PhD, who were working together in the Women’s Mental Health Program at Georgetown University Hospital caring for women through their pregnancies and first-year postpartum. They recognized the unique challenges (and rewards) of working within perinatal and maternal mental health and identified the need for a professional community of individuals specifically dedicated to the field of perinatal mental health. The collaborative was founded in order to offer each other support, share resources, identify training opportunities, and advocate for improved access to high-quality care.
Our Members
Today, the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative has grown to over 100 members – and counting! Our members are dedicated to the field of perinatal and maternal mental health and include, but is not limited to, specialists in reproductive psychiatry, infertility support, pregnancy and infant loss, birth trauma, perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, and to improving access to perinatal mental health care.
Our Commitment
As a collaborative, we are committed to:
Increasing community awareness and understanding of perinatal mental health concerns, so that they can be identified and treated as early as possible
- Combating the stigma and misconceptions related to perinatal mental health conditions
- Supporting each other as a community of professionals who have a shared belief that all individuals and families deserve support as they navigate the perinatal experience
- Advocating for increased access to high-quality perinatal and maternal mental healthcare and related resources
- Providing our members with quarterly opportunities for advanced learning led by a variety of experts within the field of perinatal and maternal mental health
Leadership
Barbara Byers, MD, MPH
Barbara Byers is the Co-Founder of the DC Metro Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. She is a reproductive psychiatrist in Chevy Chase MD specializing in the treatment of women who have mood and anxiety disorders surrounding the perinatal period. Dr. Byers graduated from the University of Virginia with a BS in Chemistry with a specialization in Biochemistry in 1997 and then got her Master’s in Public Health in 2000 where did a needs assessment and developed a health curriculum for homeless women in Savannah, Georgia. In 2004 she graduated from medical school at the University of Rochester and then did a psychiatry residency at New York University/Bellevue where she trained in reproductive psychiatry. Dr. Byers served as the medical director of the Women’s Mental Health Program at Georgetown University Hospital from 2008-2012 where she clinically managed patients and taught residents and faculty about perinatal mental health. She has done multiple trainings and interviews for media outlets over the past 14 years of her career.
Emma Basch, PsyD
Dr. Emma Basch is a licensed clinical psychologist with a focus on women’s mental health and a specialty in pregnancy and the postpartum period. She is the founder of Dr. Emma Basch & Associates, a group practice specializing in women’s mental health, supporting clients through telehealth in over 30 states. Dr. Basch also offers training on perinatal wellness to mental health providers and allied professionals, and provides training and supervision as a clinical instructor in the Department of Psychiatry at GWU. Dr. Basch is also trained in infertility and third-party reproduction and provides consultation and testing for intended parents, gamete donors, and gestational carriers.
Rachel Schechter, LICSW
Rachel Schechter has worked as a licensed clinical social worker for over a decade. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and a Masters degree in Social Work from New York University. She has worked in a variety of settings including agencies focused on college-aged students, community mental health clinics, and a center that specializes in learning differences and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. She specializes in a variety of issues including depression, anxiety, life transitions, loss and grief, relationships, and women’s issues. Most recently she has focused a large part of her practice towards perinatal mood and anxiety disorders (PMADS).
Rachel holds a certificate of advanced training from New York University. She has also received advanced training in cognitive behavior therapy, mindfulness, and postpartum related issues. In addition to her private practice, Rachel works as a group leader for a non-profit specializing in education and support for new mothers called PACE (pacemoms.org). She also volunteers as a coordinator and group leader for Postpartum International, and is a part of Mary’s Center “Perinatal Mental Health Champions” which is a program aimed at sharing information and educating the Washington, DC community about PMADS. She lives in Maryland with her husband and their two children.
Joanna Strait, LICSW
Joanna believes in providing hopeful, pregnant, postpartum and grieving moms with evidenced based therapy that incorporates practical tools and skills that they can start using right away so that they feel better as quickly as possible. Joanna also provides supervision to LMSW/LGSW clinicians with a particular focus on growing their perinatal knowledge and clinical skills. She lives in Washington, D.C. with her husband and their three children.
Lisa Catapano, MD, PhD
Dr. Catapano graduated from Harvard Medical School in 2003 with an MD and PhD in Neurobiology. She completed her residency in Psychiatry at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), followed by a fellowship in clinical research at NIMH. Her fellowship research focused on the molecular basis of bipolar disorder, and the development of new therapeutics to treat mood disorders.
She received multiple awards as a resident and fellow, including the NIMH Outstanding Resident Award, the Laughlin fellowship of the American College of Psychiatrists, and the American Psychiatric Association/GlaxoSmithKline Fellowship. She was elected to the prestigious American College of Psychiatrists in 2014, and was selected to lead the workshop for early program directors at the 2015 American Association of Directors of Psychiatry Residency Training. In her current practice, Dr. Catapano specializes in mood disorders in women, particularly as related to infertility, pregnancy and the postpartum period.
Dr. Catapano is an Associate Professor at the George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences.
Ready to Join the Collaborative?
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