Scaling up Psychological Treatments for Perinatal Women Worldwide

The Women’s Health Seminar Series features multidisciplinary research on women’s health. The goal of the series is to provide multidisciplinary training and mentorship to faculty, students, and community members across a broad range of women’s health research topics. Speakers will present their research regarding the biological, psychological, behavioural, economic and social impacts on women’s health outcomes through a 45 minute talk and engage with attendees in an interactive 15 minute question and answer period. The series is open to anyone interested in attending!

Presenter: Dr. Daisy Singla, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto

Talk Summary: Depression and anxiety impact up to 1 in 5 pregnant and postpartum women worldwide. Despite the recent US Preventive Task Force Recommendations for evidence-based psychological treatments for perinatal populations, as few as 20% of affected women are treated with adequate treatments in North America. To reduce the burden of perinatal mental health, Dr. Singla will present a growing and global body of evidence of innovations in Global Mental Health to scale up brief, psychological treatments for depression and anxiety. This will include task sharing, the use of digital platforms for treatment and supervision, and assuring quality of treatment through peer supervision.