Effective, empathic therapy to support recovery from perinatal or postpartum mood disorders
Perinatal Pro's Advocacy Team
Sylvia Lasalandra
Mary Jo Codey
Katherine Stone
Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW, owner/author Perinatal Pro
Sylvia Lasalandra Frodella is a survivor of PPD was a passionate advocate for The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act. She has lent her voice to efforts in DC and across the country to raise awareness of these issues and promote this critical legislation, helping to pass this legislation!
She is the author of A Daughter's Touch a riveting story of her postpartum experiences which has been made into an award winning film and may soon become a feature length presentation. She is a current member and past chair of Postpartum Support International's President's Advisory Council.
Sylvia's role with Perinatal Pro is coordination of legislative efforts and community outreach. Now that ppd legislation is law, Sylvia will continue to work on bringing the message of the importance of early assessment, effective treatment and family education to the community through her compelling story of suffering and survival. Sylvia knows first hand the value of family and social support to recovery from these illnesses. Sylvia co-presents at Perinatal Pro's community lectures on PPD, helping to raise awareness among family members whose loved one may be experiencing a perinatal mood disorder.
But most importantly, Sylvia is the mother of Melina who inspires her daily to keep spreading the message of hope!
Mary Jo Codey is the Fomer First Lady of New Jersey and a PPD Survivor. With her husband's support, NJ State Senate President Richard Codey, she spearheaded efforts in New Jersey and across the country to raise awareness about postpartum depression, resulting in a nationally known campaign "Speak Up When You're Down".
On April 13, 2006, her efforts were rewarded as New Jersey became the first state in the union to pass postpartum depression legislation. The bill encourages the screening of new mothers by health care providers, calls for public awareness campaigns, and offers an educational website, 800 HELP number and other educational and consumer resources.
Mrs. Codey has appeared in many public service announcements proclaiming her struggle and belief in the need of additional attention and support to this critical public health crisis. Mary Jo Codey is beloved around the state and the country for her tireless efforts to advocate for mothers, infants and families on this issue. She encourages you to join the state by state listings at www.perinatalpro.com to support the bill's funding and to let your name be among those your legislators see when the The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act comes up for appropriations/funding soon!
Here is her letter to you!!
Dear Supporters,
In 2004, when my husband was appointed acting governor for the state of New Jersey, Ididn’t have to talk my husband into introducing legislation that would not only help women, but save the lives of women , babies and families suffering with this unforgiving illness called postpartum depression. Richard lived the pain with me. He saw the destruction this illness caused the entire family.
The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS ACT, once funded will ensure that ALL women and their families are educated about postpartum depression. It would also provide research into the causes, diagnoses and treatments for postpartum depression. This bill will tell ALL women that they no longer have to suffer in shame or silence if they are confronted with feelings of depression during and after the birth of their newborn.
Now is the time to join me and encourage funding of this historic and critical legislation. Please show your support and sensitivity towards an issue that is so dear to my heart by adding your name today. Warmly, Mary Jo Codey Former First Lady, State of New Jersey
Katherine Stone is the author/originator of Postpartum Progress, the most widely-read blog in the United States on perinatal mood disorders. In 2001, Stone suffered postpartum obsessive compulsive disorder after the birth of her first child.The feeling of isolation and shame she suffered inspired her to speak out through her blog to try and help others.Because of this work, she was chosen by WebMD as one of its four 2008 Health Heroes. The Health Heroes Awards is an annual, national program to recognize individuals who overcome challenges and help transform healthcare Stone has served as guest editor on the topic of postpartum depression at BlogHer, the Chair of Public Relations for Postpartum Support International and serves on the advisory board of the Georgia Postpartum Support Network.
Her media appearances have included Time Inc.'s Health.com in the PPD area of its Depression section, a featured voice on "BORN", a documentary about the postpartum experience in America, Newsweek magazine, WebMD the Magazine, and on www.womenshealth.gov, a U.S. Department of Health & Human Services website. Stone also speaks widely on the topic of perinatal mood and anxiety disorders. Prior to becoming a full time advocate and stay-at-home mom, Stone spent 7 years in corporate marketing at The Coca-Cola Company.
Stone encourages you to sign the petition in support of the bill's funding by adding your name, state and any credential (including that of mother) today!
Susan Dowd Stone on Capitol Hill
Susan Dowd Stone, MSW, LCSW is an award winning psychotherapist, author, advocate and mental health expert who was president of Postpartum Support International, (2006 - 2008), the organization’s vice-president and Conference Chair (2005 - 2006) and currently chairs PSI’s President’s Advisory Council (2008 - 2010). She is also a National Board Member of the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.
The author/owner of Perinatal Pro, a leading international website devoted to providing expert and comprehensive information about these disorders, continues to host the state by state petition that helped raise awareness for passage of this legislation and now encourages the bill's funding.
She was a consultant in the development of the first national postpartum depression public service announcement campaign with CBS Cares. She is a NJHSS Certified Perinatal Mood Disorders Instructor, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the MSW program at the Silver School of Social Work, New York University, where she presents on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Interpersonal Psychotherapy.
Ms. Stone received her MSW from New York University where she was the recipient of a President’s Service Award. Additional and recent awards include The Mental Health Association Golden Bell Award (May, 2009) the Logan Leadership Award (August, 2009), and the Hudson Perinatal Consortium Community Partner Award (November 2009). On Veterans Day, November, 2009, she was invited to join First Lady Michelle Obama, Second Lady Jill Biden and Alma Powell on stage at George Washington University as national partners in Mission: Serve were announced.
While working at Hackensack University Medical Center in the Department of Psychiatry, she helped form and facilitate the Postpartum Psychotherapy program which helped assess, identify and treat women at risk or diagnosed with perinatal mood disorders. She also offered socialization groups for new mothers and their babies, as well as individual and group therapy specifically supportive to recovery from perinatal mood disorders. Ms. Stone has received numerous other awards for her initiation and implementation of other programs supportive to mental health, including animal assisted therapy.
At the invitation of congressional leaders, she has presented at Capitol Hill Press Conference with Brooke Shields and other notable advocates on this issue, spoken at Congressional briefings and is frequently invited to contribute viewpoint or review pending legislation, media content or commentary relevant to PPD issues and emerging research. She is a nationally recognized advocate for the credentialing, promotion and adoption of evidenced based treatments in clinical programs for all licensed mental health professionals. She is a public reviewer for the National Institute of Mental Health.
Ms. Stone maintains a private practice in Englewood Cliffs, NJ called Blue Skye Consulting LLC, specializing in women’s reproductive mental health across the life cycle, trauma treatment, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Interpersonal Psychotherapy, DBT and EMDR.
Watch a video clip of Mary Jo Codey and Sylvia Lasalandra advocating for support of The Melanie Blocker Stokes MOTHERS Act on NJN News
