Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Nancy Goh Kelly, a PSI coordinator in the state of Minnesota, a skilled healthcare strategist and operator, and (surprise, surprise!) a massive perinatal mental health advocate! We’ll chat about how parenthood can inspire career change, about the difference that specialized care can make for parents (I’m looking at you, Perinatal Mental Health-Certified advocates and professionals!), & about how striking up a conversation with a pelv...
Jun 24, 2025•1 hr 8 min•Season 4Ep. 47
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the incomparable Charlotte Ramberg - a Perinatal Mental Health-Certified Licensed Professional Counselor & advocate in North Georgia, who may just be one of the biggest helpers we know. We’re thrilled that Charlotte was willing to share her experience with surrogacy - specifically as a gestational carrier - for two wonderful families, and soon - for a third and final family who are the latest grant recipients from The Surrogacy Found...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 46
Send us a text TW: Cancer Diagnosis, Hysterectomy On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Kaitlyn Gardner, a passionate Perinatal Mental Health-Certified advocate, Licensed Professional Counselor, PSI volunteer, OH - and the founder of a non-profit supporting parents in the perinatal period in her home-state of Arkansas (just to name a few things)! Today, we’ll chat about receiving a cancer diagnosis during pregnancy, an unexpected hysterectomy at the age of 31, and the stigma associated wit...
May 27, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 45
Send us a text TW: Recurrent Pregnancy Loss On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Rachell Dumas, a registered nurse, keynote speaker, and the founder of A Light After Nine - a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women and families navigating infertility and pregnancy loss. We’ll chat about underserved populations, equity and compassionate care, & how Rachell transformed her personal adversity (of 8 pregnancy losses and one stillbirth) into a mission to empower others. When we heard about...
May 13, 2025•1 hr 17 min•Season 4Ep. 44
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Nicole McNelis - speaker, writer, therapist-mom & mom therapist. For anyone who attended PSI’s 2024 Annual conference in Washington, DC - you may remember Nicole from the highly-attended session that she led on rage. And if you didn’t attend, I’m sure you heard all kinds of buzz about that session afterward because this is a topic that people are READY to talk about. We’ll chat about compromised needs, violated expectations & "go...
Nov 19, 2024•1 hr 11 min•Ep. 43
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Aaisha Alvi, Postpartum Psychosis advocate, writer, and she also has a brand new title – a published author! We’ll hear all about her lived experience with Postpartum Psychosis on two separate occasions; we’ll chat about the importance of education and awareness - because Aaisha wasn’t diagnosed until seeing a 6th doctor; and finally, we’ll discuss how Postpartum Psychosis IS treatable and does not have to end in tragedy. If you’re inter...
Nov 05, 2024•47 min•Ep. 42
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Keisha Reaves, a Perinatal Mental Health-Certified Licensed Professional Counselor in North Georgia who has a lot to to say about the state of mental health care for BIPOC parents in the United States. Speaking from personal experience, Keisha is a passionate advocate on a mission to educate parents and practitioners about the myriad of resources that are quite literally at their fingertips. We’ll talk about “Strong Black Woman Syndrome ...
Oct 22, 2024•50 min•Ep. 41
Send us a text TRIGGER WARNING: Traumatic Birth, Intrusive Thoughts On Today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Lisa McCarty, a women’s health advocate, a mom, and a writer - who has long amplified her voice through words on paper. Today, we’re in for a treat when Lisa’s words will travel straight from her mouth and into our earbuds. We’ll chat about what it felt like to step away from a successful career - something she had never anticipated doing, managing a flood of mixed emotions after IVF, ...
Oct 08, 2024•50 min•Ep. 40
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with our fabulous friend Courtney Ginder, who works at PSI on the Communications team and who first came onto our radar as a volunteer in The Climb program! We’ll hear all about how the pandemic impacted her entry into parenthood, how access to care and prompt support from her providers got her on the quick road to recovery, and oh, my goodness – please do yourself a favor and listen all the way through the lightning round when Courtney share...
Sep 24, 2024•43 min•Ep. 39
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Traumatic Birth, Psychosis On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Kriti Lodha, a successful marketing leader in the business world, whose entrée into parenthood has turned her into a powerhouse of a perinatal mental health advocate! We’ll hear about the dichotomy of feeling both isolated during the pandemic and supported by her South Asian community, and about the importance of raising awareness about Postpartum Psychosis as a treatable diagnosis instead of m...
Sep 10, 2024•40 min•Ep. 38
Send us a text TRIGGER WARNING: Traumatic Birth On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with one of our dearest friends and colleague, Stacey Figg. She is a postpartum doula, a PSI staff member in the coordinators program & one of the silliest, funniest, realest people we know. Today you’ll hear about some of the most serious & vulnerable moments from her entry into parenthood, and how her lived experience at an inpatient facility that was poorly equipped to serve the perinatal population...
Aug 20, 2024•45 min
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Intrusive thoughts, Pregnancy Loss On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with one of the world’s loveliest human beings, Lynn Turcotte-Schuh - a Certified Birth Educator, a speaker, a perinatal mental health advocate, a long-time PSI volunteer & a mentor for mothers everywhere! We’ll chat about parenting through debilitating anxiety, social media’s impact on both our mental health and overall capacity, and what it means to find and live with Radiant Joy. This...
Aug 06, 2024•55 min
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Traumatic Birth On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Claire Hewson, an educator, a counselor & a PhD student at Queen’s University in British Columbia, Canada! Not only that, Claire is the very first PSI intern to hop into the recording studio with us. We’ll chat all about breast, chest and body feeding, trouble with bonding and the grief that followed, how all of this affected Claire after the birth of both of her children, and the full-circle experien...
Jul 23, 2024•1 hr 2 min•Season 3Ep. 35
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re chatting with the one, the only, Dr. Kat Kaeni - Perinatal Mental Health Certified Clinical Psychologist, current PSI Board Chair, published author, podcast host extraordinaire (coming up on 350 episodes), and overall an incredible human being. Kat is involved in a lot these days. We’re so grateful for this conversation about parenting through the filter of anxiety, how she got involved in volunteering with PSI, & the role that vulnerability plays in ...
Jul 09, 2024•47 min•Season 3Ep. 34
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Traumatic birth, Hemorrhaging On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the lovely Cecily Beane Cullinan - postpartum doula, Kindermusik Teacher extraordinaire and incredible human who used her lived experience with Perinatal Mental Health Disorders to volunteer in PSI’s Peer Mentor Program! (Whisper – that’s where we met!) We’ll chat about not knowing what’s quote-on-quote “normal” as a new parent, falling through the cracks in the healthcare system & a pie...
Jun 25, 2024•51 min•Season 3Ep. 33
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Intrusive Thoughts On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the one, the only, Lisette Lopez-Rose, Assistant Manager of Support Groups here at PSI and an outspoken perinatal mental health advocate for Latino parents everywhere. We’ll chat about being surprised by postpartum rage, intrusive thoughts, difficulty getting in with a provider, setting a record for attendance at PSI Support Groups in a single week (seriously, you can attend as many as you need!). So, ...
Jun 11, 2024•52 min•Season 3Ep. 32
Send us a text Episode 31 - Dr. Nicole Pensak, PhD, PMH-C On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Perinatal Mental Health-Certified Clinical Psychologist Dr. Nicole Pensak! We’ll hear about her experience recognizing that she desperately needed to reach out for help after becoming a mom. Dr. Pensak is an incredible advocate, a dedicated researcher (anyone curious about neuroplasticity in the perinatal brain? Stay tuned - we’ll chat about it!), she’s also an intriguing TEDx presenter, AND an ...
May 28, 2024•39 min•Season 3Ep. 31
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the hilarious and dynamic sisterly-duo that is Julie Koontz & Jen Hamilton! We’ll hear how PSI helped Julie through the isolation and intrusive thoughts that accompanied her perinatal mental health disorders. And we’ll hear how Jen’s experience as a Labor & Delivery nurse has helped her become an outspoken advocate for patients and professionals alike on social media and within her local community. We’re thrilled that you’ve tune...
Dec 08, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 30
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Krista Maltais, an Advanced Postpartum Doula (AdvPCD) and Certified Postpartum Doula Trainer (PDT) through DONA International and an Advanced Lactation Consultant (ALC) through the Academy of Lactation Policy and Practice. Oh, and she just published a new book and volunteers at PSI as a Climb Leader - just to name a few things. We’ll hear about how even perinatal professionals like Krista can experience postpartum anxiety, depression, an...
Nov 29, 2023•38 min•Season 2Ep. 29
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the magnanimous, Mr. Christopher Rose. He’s a Perinatal Anxiety & OCD survivor who volunteers his time at PSI in two capacities: facilitating the Dads Support group once a month and providing support to dads in the Peer Mentor Program. Before becoming a volunteer with PSI, Christopher was a new father struggling to support both his wife's mental health, and his own. Luckily, his wife found PSI and the help that they both needed. We’r...
Nov 22, 2023•50 min•Season 2Ep. 28
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with a longtime listener, first time caller (or … podcast guest) - Melissa Bentley. Melissa is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas, and is thrilled to be making a difference as the Support Coordinator Program Manager here at PSI. In this role, she supports over ~475 volunteers across the US and Canada who provide Education, Empathy and Resource Referrals for new parents who reach out to PSI for help. Today we’ll hear about...
Nov 15, 2023•41 min•Season 2Ep. 27
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with our friend, and Perinatal Mental Health-Certified powerhouse, Patience Riley. Patience is a Licensed Mental Health Therapist, a foodie, a military spouse, and a mother of two. We’ll hear all about how loneliness and isolation played a role in her transition to motherhood, especially with a partner on deployment. Patience is behind some pretty incredible work here at PSI as the Communications Manager of the Perinatal Mental Health Allianc...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 1 min•Season 2Ep. 26
Send us a text Trigger Warning: Intrusive Thoughts On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the self-proclaimed “Most Devoted Listener of the I AM ONE Podcast, the amazing - Cody Alvey. Cody is a Perinatal Mental Health-Certified Lactation Educator, and the Executive Assistant extraordinaire to PSI’s Executive Director, Dr. Wendy Davis. We’ll hear all about Cody’s lifelong experience with anxiety, diagnoses of both complex PTSD & ADHD, and how she became involved with PSI in the first pla...
Oct 31, 2023•53 min•Season 2Ep. 25
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with the fabulous Eszter Kalman, a Licensed Perinatal Psychotherapist, a longtime PSI volunteer on the Helpline, and now she’s lending her volunteer skills to content creation with the social media team. We’ll hear all about how incredibly lonely motherhood felt after moving from Hungary to the United States. We’ll also hear about Eszter’s experience with postpartum anxiety, postpartum depression, and how the shame and guilt of experiencing i...
Oct 24, 2023•43 min•Season 2Ep. 24
Send us a text On today’s episode, you’re in for something … a little different because the microphones have been turned. Emily and I were recently guests on the Mom & Mind Podcast with Dr. Kat, who has graciously given us permission to share that episode here with you! Today, you’ll hear us touch on both the personal and professional sides of our lives and how we got to where we are today. Make sure to find Mom & Mind, wherever you listen to podcasts, and scroll through Dr. Kat’s extens...
Oct 17, 2023•57 min•Season 2Ep. 23
Send us a text TW: Traumatic Birth On today’s episode, we’re chatting with Kate Jwaskiewicz, perinatal mental health advocate and mother of 4 from Syracuse, NY. Kate has chosen to dedicate much of her time to supporting pregnant and postpartum parents as a volunteer at PSI after experiencing perinatal mental health complications of her own. We’ll hear briefly about her traumatic birth after an unplanned cesarean, as well as something I just don’t think we talk about enough – postpartum rage. Tod...
Oct 10, 2023•42 min•Season 2Ep. 22
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Jasmine, a pharmacist by trade and a fierce perinatal mental health advocate by heart. In the early days of a global pandemic, she chose to join PSI as a volunteer in the Peer Mentor Program after being rocked by her own lived experience with infertility, PPA, severe PPD. We’ll hear about the difficulty accepting advice on medication (even as a pharmacist) as well as difficulty opening up about feelings when it felt like nobody who looke...
Oct 03, 2023•56 min•Season 2Ep. 21
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Jen Gaskell, a superstar volunteer of PSI on both the English & Spanish helplines. We’ll hear about Jen’s lived experience with anxiety, depression, rage and OCD. Oh, it’s a good one! Make sure you follow us on social media so you don’t miss anything I AM ONE Podcast-related, including our very first blooper reel from this episode! Jen did great. Let’s just say it was interviewer error that provided the laughs. So, get comfortable, a...
Sep 26, 2023•34 min•Season 2Ep. 20
Send us a text TRIGGER WARNING: Suicidal Ideation, Traumatic Birth On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Brittany Welch, a perinatal mental health advocate whose lived experience fuels her to help others in her community. We’ll hear about shame, guilt, an inpatient stay, navigating a medically traumatic birth experience, and the power of peer support. Brittany is not only a Climb Out of the Darkness Leader, but she’s also one of the newest members of the PSI-CA State Chapter, connecting al...
Sep 19, 2023•48 min•Season 2Ep. 19
Send us a text On today’s episode, we’re sitting down with Mikah Goldman Berg, a perinatal mental health advocate whose personal experience inspired her to become a Peer Mentor, Support Group Facilitator, and eventually a staff member supporting PSI’s National Chapters. Although I met Mikah while volunteering in PSI’s Peer Mentor Program, I had never actually heard much of what she’ll share with us today until we hit record. Today, we’ll hear about how Mikah navigated anxiety, bipolar disorder, ...
Sep 12, 2023•54 min•Season 2Ep. 18
