Women's Mental Health and Infants Program
Research Projects
The Women’s Mental Health and Infants Program was developed out of a research focus on improving understanding of Mood Disorders in women throughout the lifespan. Specific foci include improving detection and treatment of untreated depression and anxiety in childbearing aged women in primary care, improving access to effective treatments for perinatal depression/anxiety, understanding the impact of treated vs. un-treated depression and anxiety on women and their children, and understanding the neurobiological and psychological interplay between mothers and their children. Our interdisciplinary research team is comprised of faculty, trainees, and staff from Psychiatry, Psychology, Obstetrics / Gynecology, Social Work, Pediatrics, and Public Health. Our improved understanding of mental health issues is not possible without the help and collaboration of women and their families who choose to participate in this research, for which we are grateful. Listed below are different research projects that you may be interested in.
Circle of Security
Circle of Security examines whether and how a supportive intervention is helpful to mothers of young children. The Circle of Security is a 12-session educational group that aims to help parents recognize, understand, and respond to their young children’s emotional needs, expression and experiences. This study is appropriate for mothers who would like to participate in a supportive psycho-educational group with other mothers of young children and to learn more about strategies for effective, supportive parenting to enhance early child development. You may be eligible if you are at 18 years old or older, have a least one child between the ages of 18 and 47 months, have experienced perinatal depression or anxiety and are English-speaking.
Principal Investigator: Maria Muzik, M.D.,
Co-Investigators: Katherine Rosenblum, Ph.D. and Sheila Marcus, MD
IRB#: HUM00016391If you are interested in participating or learning more about this research project please contact us at (734) 232-0205.
Mothers as Mentors Project
"The Young Mothers Mentoring Program: Mothers as Mentors" is a new program for mothers with young children in the community exposed to risk factors including poverty, social isolation, childhood trauma, mental health issues, parenting stress and/or exposure to violence. The Young Mothers Mentoring Program seeks to enrich young mothers’ social support network and facilitate the learning of key self-care and parenting skills, and ultimately to reduce levels of stress, anxiety, and depression and thereby improve their children’s developmental outcomes. The proposed pilot will explore the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of this mentorship program that includes both a parent group and an individual mentor-mentee format. Informational support will be provided to young mothers by pairing them with mentors who have previously successfully undergone a parenting/self-care skills training group and are knowledgeable of available community resources. The program aims to increase accessible social support; improve stress management and coping skills; decrease maternal anxiety and depression symptoms; decrease bonding problems between mother and child; achieve self-identified mentee and mentor goals; and develop peer relationships. The program will incorporate five core elements: self-care, stress reduction and mind-body exercise; parent-child interaction; connecting to care; enhancing social supports; and a psycho-educational attachment based parenting group.
Principal Investigator: Maria Muzik, MD
Co-investigator: Rosenblum Kate, Valenstein Marcia and Leplatte Dayna
Project Coordinator: Miller Nicole
Mom Power
Mom Power is a parenting and attachment skills group for young mothers and their infants and young toddlers receiving Medicaid who are existing patients at The Corner Health Center in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Mothers participate in an 10-week educational curriculum as part of the “Mom Power” Group conducted at The Corner Health Center or Ypsilanti Health Center. The group teaches skills to enable mothers from a variety of backgrounds and skill levels to safely cope with their current stressful life circumstances and mental health symptoms, all of which may pose risk to their parenting and child’s safety. Each week has a different focus related to parenting and the mother’s emotional needs. Topics include child development, understanding how past traumatic stress affects parenting skills and mother/child bonding, self-care skills (including breathing and relaxation techniques and medications), and how to connect and play with children. At each session the child receives an age-appropriate toy or book that moms are encouraged to use as a way to engage with their child, and mothers are reimbursed for their travel. Moms receive a certificate at the end of the group proclaiming them “powerful moms’.
Principal Investigator: Maria Muzik, M.D., M.S.
Co-Investigator: Sheila Marcus, M.D. and Katherine Rosenblum, Ph.D
IRB#: HUM00018944If you are interested in participating or learning more about this research project please contact us at (734) 232-0205.
PPDI - Postpartum Depression and Insomnia Treatment Study
This study is designed to improve sleep in women who are within one year of giving birth, and who are also experiencing distress or depression and trouble sleeping. You may be eligible for the study if you are over the age of 18, have given birth in the last year, and are having difficulty falling or staying asleep, or just not feeling rested after sleep. Participants may be compensated up to $175 for their time, and will receive free treatment for their sleep problems. If you are interested in participating or learning more about this research project, please contact us at (734) 764-2242.
Principal Investigator: Leslie Swanson, Ph.D.
IRB#: HUM00024984If you are interested in participating or learning more about this research project please contact us at (734) 764-2242.
Effects of Postpartum Depression on Mothers: Interview, Videotape, and Coordinated fMRI Studies
Forming enduring emotional bonds with others is central to mental health. Motherhood, a foundational component of secure attachment, is many things: a stage in life, a personal choice, a state of mind, a bio-behavioral and psychological transition, a cultural creation, and a necessity for the species. These characterizations underscore how the real and imagined roles of mothers weave through our developmental and psychological landscape. Postpartum depression seriously affects 10-15% of all deliveries within 6 months postpartum. The majority of individuals affected suffer for more than 6 months and, if untreated, 25% of patients are still depressed a year later. We believe that understanding the brain-basis of parental behaviors and psychology will ultimately improve early detection and effective prevention and treatment of postpartum depression.
For this study, the brain basis of parenting thoughts and behaviors in mental health as well as with depression at two time points (3-4 months, and 12-13 months postpartum) in order to address the following AIMS:
1. determine how brain and behavior are affected by depression symptoms in motherhood, and as a function of postpartum timing and psychology
2. track how brain and behavior change after recovery from postpartum depressionPrincipal Investigator: James Swain MD, PhD
Co-Investigators: Sarah Garfinkel, PhD, Suzanne Perkins, PhD, Maria Muzik MD
IRB#: HUM00032817If you are interested in participating or learning more about this research project please contact us at (734) 232-0414.
