Gateway Collaborative Care Education for Medical Professionals and Maternal Care Professionals
What Your Patients Are Not Telling You
May Matter Most.
The greatest barrier to identifying perinatal mental health conditions is not the absence of screening. It is the absence of disclosure.
Perinatal mental health conditions are among the most common complications of pregnancy and the postpartum period, yet many women experiencing significant distress remain unidentified, even when routinely screened. Most providers assume that if a patient is struggling, she will disclose it when asked. Research and clinical experience suggest otherwise. Women frequently minimize, deny, or conceal symptoms because of shame, fear, guilt, or concern about how they will be perceived.
Early recognition depends not only on what clinicians ask, but on what patients feel safe enough to disclose.
The Gateway Program introduces selected principles from Karen Kleiman's The Art of Holding Perinatal Women in Distress™, translating them into practical, evidence-informed communication strategies designed specifically for medical settings.
Participants learn brief, clinically relevant skills that strengthen patient engagement, facilitate safety and earlier self-disclosure, improve recognition of emotional distress, and support timely referral for appropriate care.
You cannot afford to miss a diagnosis.
Take the time to learn practical communication strategies that can increase the likelihood that your patient will disclose the true nature of her suffering.
Designed for Healthcare Teams
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One-hour session or expanded training options
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Virtual or on-site
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Scheduled to accommodate your team
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Customized to your specialty, medical/clinical setting and patient population
Clinical Takeaways
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Recognize why patients experiencing significant perinatal distress often deny, minimize, or withhold symptoms, even during routine screening.
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Apply brief communication strategies that encourage earlier and more honest disclosure without extending the clinical encounter.
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Identify verbal, behavioral, and interpersonal cues that may signal clinically significant distress despite a reassuring presentation.
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Integrate selected Holding-informed communication techniques into obstetric, family medicine, pediatric, primary care, and nursing practice.
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Strengthen patient engagement to improve identification, referral, and treatment of perinatal mental health conditions
Request a Consultation
To learn more or schedule an introductory Zoom consultation, email training@postpartumstress.com and include Gateway Training in the subject line. We welcome the opportunity to discuss how we might collaborate.