I’m a PMH-C now!

I’m happy to announce that today, I passed my PMH-C Exam (Perinatal Mental Health Certification)!

I have been working towards this goal since last year and I am beyond excited that I’ve finally achieved my goal.

Since becoming a parent myself, I found a new interest and passion about perinatal mental health topics, especially those around perinatal loss, traumatic birth experience, experiences of postpartum depression and anxiety, and other related mental health issues. Being completely transparent, I have a very personal and direct experience with all of those topics mentioned and I have seen firsthand, how lonely this period of postpartum and time of loss can be.

Social support and knowing that you are not alone during this incredibly difficult and vulnerable period of transition is vital, and I also saw, unfortunately, how lacking that can be. Mostly because of lack of knowledge and education by the general public, but also because of fears and stigma attached to asking for help. You’re supposed to “get over it”, you’re told “well at least you know you can get pregnant” or “you’re supposed to love your newborn” or even better, “moms are supposed to be so strong!!” I know they come from good intentions, but oh, how they land so painfully, further forcing you in a place of loneliness, silence, and actually being completely alone.

Since I have been working primarily with trauma in my clinical work, I also know from this lens, how important social support and having the right support is crucial to healing and road to recovery. Being an Asian American immigrant woman, finding a therapist or support that understood my complex background and lived experiences and how they shape or inform my postpartum and grief process, felt impossible. There were help that was still helpful - because after all, experiences of mental health issues and grief and loss are one of the many universally understood human experiences. And you don’t need to come from a specific background to understand the pain that’s felt during these very vulnerable and painful times. But there was a part of me that still felt lonely - aching to find a community of people (or even just a person) that looked like me to let me know I’m not the only one in our community, that experienced something painful like this.

So I found a reason to turn my pain, my aching, my understanding, to something that’s more concrete. To something that I can be a bridge to. To become that someone that my postpartum, traumatized, grieving, lonely past self - desperately desperately needed.

I joined to become a professional member of Postpartum Support International. I took their courses that would allow me to sit for their perinatal mental health certification exam. And after several self doubt, conversations with my imposter syndrome, and anxiety and more internal work later - I scheduled to sit for the exam.

And here I am - I passed, I passed, I PASSED!

I am proud and so excited to announce that I will be accepting new clients that are looking to receive support for perinatal mental health issues (depression, anxiety, grief - perinatal loss).

If you’re here reading this, and came this far, please know that you are not alone. You deserve to be well, and you deserve to have a helping hand to get you through this really difficult part of your life.