Women's Mental Health

Women's mental health encompasses more than psychiatric conditions that happen to occur in women. Biological changes, reproductive events, relationships, family roles, life circumstances, and other psychological and social factors can interact with emotional health throughout a woman's life.

Hormonal and reproductive transitions are particularly important times to consider these interactions. Pregnancy, the postpartum period, and perimenopause involve substantial physiological changes and may coincide with new psychiatric symptoms or changes in existing ones.

Hormonal fluctuations may also affect existing psychiatric conditions. For some women with ADHD, for example, symptoms may change during periods of hormonal fluctuation.

Understanding these connections does not mean assuming that every emotional or psychiatric symptom is caused by hormones. Rather, it means considering the whole clinical picture, including psychiatric history, current symptoms, medical and reproductive factors, relationships, stresses, and life circumstances.

Women's Mental Health Across the Lifespan

Planning for Pregnancy

For women with existing or previous psychiatric concerns, planning for pregnancy can raise questions about emotional well-being and psychiatric treatment. Psychiatric care during this period can take into account both a woman's mental health history and her plans for pregnancy.

Pregnancy

Pregnancy involves major physical and psychological changes. Women may experience new mental health concerns during pregnancy, while others enter pregnancy with an existing history of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, or other psychiatric conditions.

Postpartum & Motherhood

The transition to motherhood can bring significant psychological, relationship, identity, and lifestyle changes. There are many ways that women become mothers, including pregnancy and childbirth, surrogacy, adoption, and other paths to parenthood.

For women who give birth, the postpartum period also involves significant physical and hormonal changes. My areas of specialization include postpartum depression and anxiety and adjustment to becoming a mother.

More broadly, I work with women navigating the emotional and psychological adjustments that can accompany the transition to motherhood.

Perimenopause

Perimenopause is another significant reproductive transition. Changes occurring during this period may intersect with mood and other aspects of mental health. For women with ADHD, symptoms may also change during this period of hormonal fluctuation.

I have pursued many hours of continuing medical education focused specifically on perimenopause in addition to my earlier specialized training in women's mental health.

Learn More About Perimenopause & Mental Health →

My Training in Women's Mental Health

I received specialized training in Women's Mental Health during my psychiatry training at UCSF.

I worked with a committee to create the UCSF Women's Mental Health Focus Track and subsequently became its first graduate.

Women's mental health has remained an important area of my clinical work and continuing medical education throughout my career.