
12 hour Advanced Training: The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™
About Our Advanced Training
The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™: Assessment, Treatment, & Advanced Clinical Practice (12hr) is the first of its kind, training the maternal healthcare provider to consider both the nuanced nature of the perinatal client’s authentic suffering and synchronous impact on the provider’s experience. This intensive training, developed by Karen Kleiman with Hilary Waller, draws from Kleiman’s HOLDING model of intervention and 3 decades of experience, using lecture and experiential learning approaches to expand your clinical perspective.

“There will be times when the very best way for us to inspire her while she stands on the edge of life is to sit there…to be with her. Without fear. Without judgment. Without words. Her pain is a compelling invitation to those who can sit in that space. We do so with tacit strength and reverence worthy of that moment” (The Art of Holding in Therapy, Kleiman.)
Course Highlights
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Emphasis is on theoretical foundations and clinical application with focus on Karen Kleiman’s HOLDING Model of Intervention.
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Training is based on three decades of clinical experience of Karen Kleiman, founding director of The Postpartum Stress Center.
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This course closely follows the theories and clinical practices presented in Therapy and the Postpartum Woman: Notes on healing postpartum depression for clinicians and the women who seek their help (Routledge, 2009) and The Art of Holding in Therapy: An essential intervention for postpartum depression (Routledge, 2017, revision in press 2022).
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This course has global appeal, drawing clinicians from around the world to gather in order to stay up-to-date and enhance their clinical practice.
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The small group format provides opportunity for case consultation with Karen Kleiman.
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Selective participants may be eligible for ongoing consultation or mentoring, subject to the instructor’s schedule and availability. Interested attendees should contact the instructor following the course.
Who Should Attend
This is an advanced, intensive training for maternal health care providers who hope to specialize in this field and ideally, have had some fundamental PMAD training. While there is no prerequisite, the emphasis on clinical intervention will be better integrated with previous experience and professional training. This course focuses on professional development and the intricacies of treating perinatal women in distress. The program is designed to study the art versus the science of PMADs and the impact on both the client and the therapist.
Participants should have a masters or doctoral level degree from an accredited graduate program in mental health related field. Participation exceptions may be made to include doulas and lactation consultants when their interests and clinical practice aligns with the objectives of our training.
(Our Introduction to Karen Kleiman's The Art of Holding course taught by Hilary Waller is not a pre-requisite for this course. Both stand independent of each other.)
Course Fees
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$1,995.00 – In-person
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$1,600.00 – Virtual Rate
** prices are in US Dollars **
CE Credits
Continuing Education Credits This program is approved by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) for twelve (12) continuing education contact hours. All others should contact their state board for information regarding CE approval in a particular professional discipline. We will be happy to provide any information they may request.
Course Instructors
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Karen Kleiman, MSW, LCSW
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Hilary Waller, MS, LPC
Cancellation Policy
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Any changes with registration must be made 30 days in advance of the training date with an administrative fee of $150.00.
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100% of your registration fee (minus $150 admin fee) can be transferred to a future training if changes occur prior to 30 days of your scheduled training date.
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This credit will expire one (1) year from the date of the original training. Note that each participant is only entitled to one rescheduled registration.
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All registrations are final within 30 days of the scheduled training date. No refunds or transfers will be issued if cancellation occurs within that timeframe.
Each participant will receive
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PowerPoint presentation, PPSC handouts and established tools of intervention, pertinent research articles.
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Inclusion in the PPSC’s referral database and an online listing in our PPSC Clinician Referral list.
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PPSC Certificate of Completion.
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Web Certificate of Completion to post on clinician’s website.
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Opportunity for ongoing peer supervision with other PPD specialists
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Opportunity for ongoing group mentorship and/or individual mentorship with Karen Kleiman, when available.
Where is the Training Held?
Virtual training are offered via Zoom.
In-person training are held at
Normandy Farm Hotel & Conference Ctr in Blue Bell, PA
Cedar Room (second floor).
Time: Saturday 9am-4:30pm ET / Sunday 9am-4:30pm ET
* VACCINATIONS ARE REQUIRED FOR ALL IN-PERSON TRAININGS *
Hotel Accommodations:
We recommend that trainees reserve overnight accommodations at Normandy Farm, when possible. Guest room reservations are extremely limited, we encourage you to book your reservation as soon as your registration for training is complete.
Guest rooms at Normandy Farm are available at a discounted rate at $169 per night (single or double occupancy). Before booking your room, please click the “READ NOW” link below for additional important details about lodging.
Meals:
Included in your registration fee is dining at Normandy Farm’s fabulous hot and cold buffet breakfast, lunch, and snacks provided throughout training. The conference center aims to provide for dietary restrictions or preferences.
Please note that if you book at another local hotel, your on-site meals (breakfast, lunch, and snacks) are still included in the cost of your training registration.
History of The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ Model:
We ask that any trainee, after taking this course, who intends to teach, train, or write about Karen Kleiman's The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ model, insert the following written account into their presentation/work:
"The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™ is a supportive psychotherapeutic approach developed in 2016 by Karen Kleiman, owner of The Postpartum Stress Center, The Karen Kleiman Training Center, and author of several groundbreaking books on postpartum depression and anxiety. After over three decades of clinical practice and writing, Kleiman created and continues to expand The Art of Holding approach in response to the complex and nuanced needs of perinatal women in distress.
Holding is a mindful, intentional intervention which enables the therapist to simultaneously attend to their client’s distress as well as their own response. Holding provides a framework with specific prompts for synchronized attunement to the client, the therapist, and the process.
This model was created to better understand the paradoxical presentation of perinatal distress distinguished by the contradiction between what a new mother feels and her disinclination to disclose it. This impressive incongruity, appearing as resistance or reluctance, is referred to as authentic suffering. Awareness and appreciation of authentic suffering and the skill to access it, is an essential key to her recovery."