Trauma-Informed Care Online Course(s) & Continuing Education

Angel Montfort, Psy.D., PMH-C is a licensed clinical psychologist, mother of four, and the founder of the Center for Maternal Mental Health, a therapy practice dedicated to serving women throughout all stages of motherhood. She has always gravitated toward treating women and became passionate about perinatal mental health while working in a Women's Clinic within a hospital setting. At first it was a way to meet the needs of her patients and it quickly led to an understanding of her own postpartum experiences, which deepened her connection to this work.

In her practice, Dr. Montfort addresses concerns such as postpartum depression, postpartum anxiety, birth trauma, perinatal loss, infertility, and adjustment to motherhood. Dr. Montfort shares educational information on her Instagram account (@drangelmontfort) and her website (www.cfmmh.com) in an effort to validate and uplift moms who are struggling through a time that is expected to be the most joyous. Her expertise in perinatal mental health has been featured in a number of media outlets including Forbes, Healthline, and ScaryMommy. She believes that if we make space for both the highs and lows of motherhood, we set new moms up for a more balanced experience.

Alixandra Bacon is a Registered Midwife and settler living and working in Vancouver, BC on the traditional and unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, Tsleil-waututh and Tsawwassen nations. Alixandra is President of the Canadian Association of Midwives, Past President of the Midwives Association of BC, and clinical faculty at the University of British Columbia, Faculty of Medicine. Alixandra is passionate about creating equitable access to excellent sexual, reproductive and newborn midwifery services for everyone. Alixandra is the recipient of the UBC Alumni Builder Award.

Dr Kathryn Gutteridge - First and foremost I am a mother, wife and latterly grandmother, my personal life has always largely informed my practice and I am always careful to remember that the women I meet are also like me in that they belong to a family. I am a freelance consultant midwife one of the first in the UK and formerly employed at 2 very large and diverse maternity units. My career started in the 1970’s in nursing however midwifery was always my ambition and particularly the nurturance of midwifery led care. I am a practicing psychotherapist interested in the emotional impact of childbirth; in part due to my own mothering experiences and research. I have worked closely with women to understand this phenomenon and researched emotional transition to motherhood. Raising awareness for maternal mental health and particularly women surviving sexual abuse, I co-founded Sanctum Midwives campaigning on maternity care and sexual abuse. I have worked for many years raising awareness around the issues of maternal mental health and supporting both women and all those who work in maternity care situations. I believe positive mental health is the cornerstone to mothering and self fulfilment. I have published widely in peer review journals but also in many books. My latest publication is ‘Understanding Anxiety, Worry and Fear in Childbearing Women’ which I edited and wrote 4 chapters. I am currently writing on the issues of child and adult female sexual abuse and its implications. I care very deeply about women and their babies that they may come through their pregnancy and birth unharmed. I will continue to do this for the sake of midwives everywhere.

Molly Dutton-Kenny is an American & Canadian midwife. Trained in the USA in community homebirth midwifery, she now makes Canada her home and practices as a Registered Midwife with her loving family & community. She supports education for midwifery students through National Midwifery Institute, and community education around full spectrum pregnancy loss and abortion, respectful pelvic exams, and midwifery-based management and support of these experiences, centering home and holistic medicine as options for most people. You can read more about her work at www.mollyduttonkenny.com.  

Maria Caterina Cattaneo is a psychotherapist with a psychodynamic orientation and EMDR practitioner. In the 90s she accumulated a large experience in the field of the clinical psychology of the developmental age, both in public hospitals (Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatry department in Lecco, and a collaboration with the department of Neonatal Pathology in Monza), and in the Scientific Institute Eugenio Medea in Bosisio Parini, where she has also done research on depression in children and adolescents, giving an important contribution to the Italian version of the Achenbach CBCL (4-18) . For several years she worked on the protection of minors (at the department of Social Services of the city of Monza) , conducting diagnosis and microanalysis of highly conflictual couples, and support groups for parents. Besides her free practice, since 2006 she has been coordinating the project on “When birth becomes crisis”, a collaborative project between the departments of Neonatology and Neonatal Pathology of the Maternity Hospital Mangiagalli in Milan and the Consultorio Familiare “Genitori Oggi”and , since the last year, in the Humanitas Hospital PioX. The clinical activity consists of psychological work in the maternity wards, inside the Hospital, and, when needed, therapeutic intervention with mothers or fathers , couples or mother - infant bonding at the Perinatal Psychology Unit, founded in 2006 at the same hospital. Since 2008 she has started the research activity of the Unit on the prevention of post-partum depression; some results of this research have been published in international journals, and have been presented at several AISMI conferences, while others are in the process of publication. In the last years she has started, with her collaborators, a new research project based on the use of EMDR in perinatal psychology, implying the preparation of two new protocols on delivery trauma and problems concerning breastfeeding.

Dr Raja Gangopadhyay is a Consultant Obstetrician & Gynaecologist at the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, UK, with a special interest in Perinatal Mental Health (PMH) and a Visiting Lecturer at the University of Hertfordshire (UK). In conjunction with his multidisciplinary team, Raja has been championing joint approaches to perinatal mental health that take into account infant mental health. Raja is a well-known Trainer in PMH and organises teaching, training and Conference for Obstetricians, Midwives, GP and other healthcare professionals. He is a renowned speaker and has been invited to speak at many National and International events. He obtained a Certificate in Medical Education from the University of Bedfordshire, UK. He has been invited to House of Lords meeting as a member of the Expert panel and organised and chaired events at the House of Commons (UK Parliament). He has been invited to many media interviews (Radio/ Television) and views/ opinions have been quoted in many leading UK newspapers. He is the Founder of the International Forum for Wellbeing In Pregnancy (IFWIP): a unique initiative to raise awareness of mental wellbeing during pregnancy from a global perspective (www.ifwip.org)

Jane has worked in London, Swansea, Bahamas and Oman, as a Mental Health Nurse, Registered Nurse and Health Visitor. She retired from her last post as Senior Lecturer in Public and Mental Health, and now has honorary status. Jane was the first health visitor to be made the President of the United Kingdom Marcé Society and then the International Marcé Society for Perinatal Mental Health. She is currently on the Executive Board of the Marcé Society and is the Director of her training company in Perinatal Mental Health. Many of her courses have been accredited by the Continuing Professional Development Service. Jane is also working closely with the All Wales Perinatal Group and has been involved in many national and international groups.

Maryl Smith, LDM, CPM, has been attending out-of hospital births in Oregon for 38 years. Her degree in theology with a counseling emphasis and her involvement in Native American community generated a growing awareness of the deep need for safe maternity care settings where survivors of trauma could thrive. So she and her midwifery partner intentionally set out to educate themselves and create that environment. They are forever grateful to their best teachers: the amazing women who entrusted them with their care.
Maryl has taught on staff at Birthingway College of Midwifery and served on the Diversity and Preceptor boards. She has led women’s support groups, provided counseling for non-profit organizations and correctional institutions and co-facilitated a drug and alcohol recovery group. She continues to teach at conferences in the US and abroad, training providers how to naturally integrate trauma-informed practice with their patient care. Her articles on this topic have been published in Midwifery Today. When she isn’t catching babies, Maryl embarks on adventures with her granddaughters, creates music with her musician husband or takes pen in hand and attempts to write something interesting.

Dr. Kendall-Tackett is a health psychologist and International Board Certified Lactation Consultant, and the Owner and Editor-in-Chief of Praeclarus Press, a small press specializing in women's health. Dr. Kendall-Tackett is Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Psychological Trauma and was Founding Editor-in-Chief of Clinical Lactation, a position she held for 11 years. She is Fellow of the American Psychological Association in Health and Trauma Psychology, Past President of the APA Division of Trauma Psychology, and a member of APA’s Publications and Communications Board.

Dr Marilyn R Sanders is a board-certified pediatrician and neonatologist who cares for critically ill babies, infants, and their families at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center Newborn Intensive Care Unit in Hartford, CT. Dr Sanders did her pediatric residency at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine and her fellowship in Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine at Johns-Hopkins School of Medicine. She is a Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She also provides neurodevelopmental follow-up for babies and infants up to 3 years old. Her scholarly interest is providing trauma-informed care to hospitalized newborns, infants, young children, and their families. Her focus is the impact of the autonomic nervous system’s sense of safety, danger, or life threat on our emotions and behavior. She lectures throughout the United States and Europe. She has authored papers and book chapters on trauma-informed care for young infants, children, and their families in the hospital setting. Dr Sanders is currently under book contract with WW Norton and Company. Her book, to be published in 2020, discusses implications of the Polyvagal Theory, for the well-being and development of infants, children, and adolescents.

Mickey Sperlich, an assistant professor with the UBSSW, is an experienced midwife and researcher who studies the effects of trauma and mental health challenges on women’s childbearing and postpartum experiences and outcomes. She became interested in research in order to better understand the needs of her midwifery clients who were trauma survivors. Her first research project culminated in the book “Survivor Moms: Women’s Stories of Birthing, Mothering and Healing after Sexual Abuse,” which was named the 2008 Book of the Year by the America College of Nurse Midwives. Sperlich has taken part in several trauma-focused perinatal studies and is co-author of a psychosocial intervention for pregnant survivors of abuse, the “Survivor Moms’ Companion.” She completed her PhD with a dual title in Social Work and Infant Mental Health at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, in 2014. Sperlich says, “I am committed to developing trans-disciplinary approaches to understanding and addressing the sequelae of sexual violence and other trauma, particularly for childbearing women. I am actively involved in developing and evaluating interventions which address issues experienced by survivors of trauma and which are directed at interrupting intergenerational cycles of violence and psychiatric vulnerability.”

Mandy Irby, pronouns are she/her, is a board certified labor nurse with 13 years of experience supporting survivors of assault and trauma through pregnancy, birth planning, and at their bedside during childbirth and pregnancy loss. After experiencing her own birth trauma, she quickly learned that the birth care system is NOT centered on human rights, patient choice, and the individual experience. In 2020, Mandy made education a full-time career. She now teaches and supports parents and nurses how to better center voice, choice, and physiology in birth. It's Mandy’s mission to change birth culture so that it's parent-centered, trauma-informed, and safe for all.
Mandy enjoys teaching in-person, in whole-team learning: Peanut Ball, Labor Support Skills and Trauma-Informed Care At the Bedside workshops. She also supports local parents with small-group Spinning Babies® Parent Classes when in-person learning is safest. Mandy is also an international educator through her online, on-demand childbirth ed classes and she supports anxious parents-to-be with virtual, one-on-one trauma-informed birth strategy sessions. She’s the co-founder of Fearless Birth, Delivered, founder and owner of The Birth Nurse®, and a proud co-creator of the BRAND NEW Trauma-Informed Birth Nurse Program. As a creative educator, Mandy is also the co-author of an Amazon best-seller, Baby Got VBAC, and reaches millions of viewers each month through her engaging, tongue-in-cheek social media platforms.
When she’s not working from home, Mandy might be found at any local plant nursery adding to her, some may say, out-of-control house plant collection. She’s a serial craft starter and non-finisher, loves walking her doodle puppy, and playing in the creek with her 2 kids.