We are thrilled to announce the launch of a new perinatal behavioral health provider training program, UW Moms’ Access Project ECHO (MAP ECHO), led by UW Perinatal Psychiatrists Amritha Bhat, MD, MPH, and Deb Cowley, MD, and administered by Jamie Adachi, MPH. The program will use the well-established ECHO model to connect providers in the community with a multidisciplinary specialist team through videoconferencing technology. This is the first ECHO program in the country that focuses on perinatal behavioral health. It joins two other successful ECHO programs offered through our department: The UW Psychiatry and Addictions Case Conference (UW PACC) series and Project ECHO for CBTp.

Participants are from across the state, representing diverse provider types and clinical settings and will be part of a rich learning community where they receive community support, mentoring and recommendations from specialists. The didactic portion of the sessions will focus on topics related to perinatal behavioral health including diagnosis and management of mood and substance use disorders during pregnancy and the risks and benefits of psychiatric medication while pregnant and breastfeeding. Didactics will be followed by case presentations and discussion.

Although registration for this series is currently closed, we hope to continue offering this training to ensure that all moms have access to quality mental health care during pregnancy and postpartum. To learn more about our other training opportunities, email mcmh@uw.edu or visit our Maternal-Child Mental Health website.