by
Ashley Hanna Morgan, LCSW
I Gave Birth to My Heart: a Collection of Poems about Motherhood, Reimagined
is now available in Kindle and paperback editions!
From the back cover:
I never expected to get Postpartum Depression and Anxiety. As a licensed clinical social worker, I thought I knew all about depression. I treat people with depression. Surely knowing what it is and how to treat it will prevent me from getting it, right? But expectations are tricky little things with surprisingly inaccurate predictions of the future.
Because it is dubbed the “smiling depression” and because people who have not been through it often wonder, “what are parents so sad about after they have a baby?” I wanted to draw back the curtains and give readers a glimpse into what recovery from Postpartum Depression and Anxiety actually feels like in this collection of poems.
With or without Postpartum Depression, if you have had children and experienced the breaking down of your life and rebuilding from the ground up, you will find yourself in some of these lines of verse. If you have gone through infertility or the loss of a child through miscarriage, stillbirth, illness, or making an adoption plan for your baby, these poems reveal a process through grief and loss. Even if you have never had children, you will get a glimpse into the secret anguishes and joys universal to parents, and one mother’s reinvention of herself after Postpartum Depression and Anxiety.
The Afterglow: a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder Support Group Curriculum
is now available in paperback!
From the back cover:
Written by a Licensed Clinical Social Worker after she recovered from her own experience with a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder, this curriculum equips facilitators to create a support group for mothers on the path to emotional wellness. While all parents need support, this curriculum is designed specifically for mothers experiencing a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder, such Postpartum Depression or Postpartum Anxiety. Steeped in practical Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and the deep wisdom of Mindfulness, facilitators can feel confident that support group attendees will learn concrete tools each week. Whether you are a licensed mental health clinician, a nurse, a doula, a midwife, a lactation consultant, a grandparent, a clergy member, or a parent who has fully recovered from a Perinatal Mood & Anxiety Disorder, you are qualified to create a support group with an evidence-based curriculum as a guide. Most importantly, you will give mothers hope that they are not alone, and with treatment, they will be well.