Indiana ranks 44th in the United States for mental health workforce availability, with a staggering ratio of 530 residents per mental health professional (Access to Care Data 2024 | Mental Health America). This shortfall is especially concerning in maternal mental health, where complications are both common and highly treatable.
Between 15% and 20% of pregnant and postpartum women experience diagnosable mental health conditions, yet too few providers are trained to address these perinatal mood disorders. Women from historically marginalized groups often face additional barriers to accessing effective mental health care, leading to inequities in treatment and outcomes.
For the past four years, Mental Health Awareness of Michiana has been on a mission to close these gaps. By bringing expert trainers to Michiana, MHAM has worked to raise awareness of perinatal mental health and build local capacity. To tackle the growing demand for trained clinicians, MHAM launched the Maternal Mental Health Fellowship, supported by the Valinhos Family Foundation. This comprehensive training program is designed for master’s-level interns and early-career social work and counseling professionals.
Fellows receive extensive training, clinical experience, and weekly supervision to develop specialized skills in treating pregnant and postpartum women. The program also connects fellows with MHAM’s Asesoramiento Gratuito, which provides short-term counseling to community members facing financial and systemic barriers to care.
As you can imagine, we’re especially pleased to share that on Monday, March 31st, we celebrated the “graduation” of our inaugural maternal mental health fellows, Olivia Morris and Gisselle Dwyer. Over the past six months, Olivia and Gisselle have counseled perinatal clients, received weekly clinical supervision, and received 30 additional hours of specialized training.
“We are delighted to celebrate Olivia and Gisselle’s accomplishment,” said Lisa Kelly, MHAM Executive Director. “They have worked hard and are well equipped to serve perinatal clients in their respective careers. We are grateful for the ground work they have laid with this initiative.”
Join the Mission
Are you or someone you know passionate about maternal mental health? To learn more about the MHAM Maternal Mental Health Fellowship or to apply for the next cohort, contact us at info@mhamichiana.org.
Together, we can ensure that every mother in our community receives the mental health care she deserves.
To learn more about the Asesoramiento Gratuito, click HERE!
Are you interested in volunteer opportunities? Send us an email:
info@mhamichiana.org
→ To make a financial gift to support MHAM, visit:
