Dear Families:
Thank you for your interest in the NICU Parent Program. I am the Licensed Clinical Psychologist who developed this unique program of services especially for families of babies in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, or families recovering from a stressful/traumatic birth.
The seeds of the program were first planted almost 20 years ago, when my own family was experiencing a NICU stay. What a profoundly stressful time in my life! I recall that I looked around the crowded unit, seeing all the other shell-shocked parents, and I realized first-hand the profound need for “something more” to help families in that context.
After discharge, I realized that more was needed for families in the years following a NICU hospitalization as well. Parents, baby and the whole family need specialized support as they heal from what happened during the birth and in the immediate postpartum period. After my own recovery from the crisis my family experienced, I vowed to focus my work on supporting other families in the NICU and after discharge as they adjust to life with a preemie infant or a baby with medical or developmental needs, or as they recover from a traumatic birth experience.
In my private psychology practice, I currently provide contract services as a NICU Psychologist to local hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area, and offer my services in the NICU Parent Program to families via telehealth throughout California.
With this program, it’s now possible for parents to get the benefits of evidence-based treatment. We now know from the research that there are ways to reduce post-traumatic stress and relieve the anxiety and depression that may arise for family members during baby’s treatment and afterwards. There are ways to support parents’ relationships and bonding with their little ones even in the challenging clinical environment of an intensive care unit, and it’s possible to strengthen parents’ recovery from the stress of a NICU stay, which can lead to better long-term outcomes for both parents and baby.
The overall goal at the NICU Parent Program is to support YOU – moms, dads, siblings, grandparents, and other caregivers – as you journey through the ups and downs of baby’s hospitalization and beyond. This is important, because parents and other family members can really benefit from specialized support while their babies are in hospital and after coming home, in order to promote recovery, resilience, and healing for the whole family.
Please contact me if you think I can be of service. I look forward to hearing from you!
Sincerely,
NICU Parent Program 