Online counseling has been identified as way to help many clients who cannot reach treatment when they most need it. One population identified as potential ideal clients for online or distance counseling is new mothers experiencing or predisposed to post partum depression.

First time mothers, particularly those identified as low economic status are at highest risk for postpartum depression – often misdiagnosed or mislabeled as ‘regular’ depression which will fade with time.

Postpartum depression starts shortly after a mother gives birth. Symptoms can include anything from crying spells and feelings of detachment from the baby to fear something will happen to the baby and overwhelming anxiety. When a mother experiences these symptoms and feels alone, the symptoms can worsen with time.

One study lists the following points as risks for babies and children living with a mother suffering with postpartum depression:

• Evidence suggests that depression can interfere with parenting, potentially leading to poor child development— setbacks that are particularly devastating during infancy.
• Compared with their peers with nondepressed mothers, infants living in poverty with severely depressed mothers are more likely to have mothers who also struggle with domestic violence and substance abuse, and who report being only in fair health.
• Infants living in poverty with depressed mothers receive similar prenatal care as their peers whose mothers are not depressed, but they are breastfed for shorter periods of time.

Were these mothers offered either online counseling or distance counseling as an added source of support they might fare in the longrun? Granted, if they are living in poverty, they might not be able to afford the computer equipment required for online counseling. But distance counseling offered by way of telephone sessions could surely offer them an escape from their symptoms.

Simply being offered the opportunity to discuss their feelings on a regular basis could both improve their mental health as well as their parenting. Talk therapy, whether it is face-to-face in an office, or over the phone, can make the difference in someone’s day when they are feeling depressed.

Some centers, such as the Women & Infants’ Center for Women’s Behavioral Health, already implement programs that offer mothers the opportunity to be with their babies while they receive treatment for depression. What if a patient opts to go home instead? At this point, they could be offered the choice of receiving distance counseling aimed at helping them feel better at their job as moms.

Sources: Huffington Post, Official Journal of the Academy of Pediatrics, Urban. org

How do you see online counseling or distance counseling as a way of helping mothers experience postpartum depression? What potential benefits and drawbacks do you see?