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Partner News

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After brother’s suicide, Blackfeet sisters are creating a horse-based alternative to talk therapy

December 23, 2025
©Lauren Miller, Montana Free Press, CatchLight Local/Report for America: Erika Mad Plume and Lynn Mad Plume pet a newly donated mare ridden by Elizabeth “Lizzy” Steward on Nov. 5, 2025, in Browning.

Many Georgians still struggling to access care despite 2022 Mental Health Parity Act

November 15, 2025
Kingia Randall with her sister Valarie White, who struggles with severe arthritis, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other health issues. White relies on Georgia Medicaid’s family caregiver homecare services provided by Randall five days per week.

For People With Mental Illness, the Path to Disability Benefits Can Be Long and Difficult

October 6, 2025
©Michael Chacanaca/Public Health Watch

Moms and babies find mental health support from perinatal therapists in Georgia

©Ellen Eldridge/GPB: Patient Vanessa (last name withheld, left) talks with Dr. Avivah McPherson about perinatal mental health. Vanessa struggled to care for her newborn and toddler after her mother’s death before becoming McPherson's patient.
©Ellen Eldridge/GPB: Patient Vanessa (last name withheld, left) talks with Dr. Avivah McPherson about perinatal mental health. Vanessa struggled to care for her newborn and toddler after her mother’s death before becoming McPherson's patient.

Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) by Ellen Eldridge, May 27, 2025

Vanessa was 32 and pregnant with her first child when a massive stroke left her mother paralyzed and in need of care.

“Your mother is like your best friend,” said Vanessa, who asked to use her first name only. “And this is something that I’ve wanted to, you know, go through with her. And I couldn’t.”

Then, the baby came.

“All of a sudden, I’m just sad,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa knew her son was healthy, and that she was expected to feel happy, but she couldn’t process her emotions.

“I couldn’t, like, connect with the baby,” she said. “I couldn’t even see the baby. I couldn’t stand him crying. It was just hard for me. And before this season of my life, I was a, you know, happy go lucky person.”

Vanessa was 32 and pregnant with her first child when a massive stroke left her mother paralyzed and in need of care.

“Your mother is like your best friend,” said Vanessa, who asked to use her first name only. “And this is something that I’ve wanted to, you know, go through with her. And I couldn’t.”

Then, the baby came.

“All of a sudden, I’m just sad,” Vanessa said.

Vanessa knew her son was healthy, and that she was expected to feel happy, but she couldn’t process her emotions.

“I couldn’t, like, connect with the baby,” she said. “I couldn’t even see the baby. I couldn’t stand him crying. It was just hard for me. And before this season of my life, I was a, you know, happy go lucky person.”

To fully be there for her son, Vanessa said she needed therapy for her mental wellness the same way she needed rest for her physical wellness.

Perinatal mental disorders are the most common complication of childbearing with an estimated 30,000 Georgians experiencing these illnesses every year.

Underlying mental health conditions are the leading cause of maternal deaths, and, between 2015 and 2020, there were 28 deaths by suicide in Georgia where the person was “pregnant at time of death, within one year of death or not otherwise specified,” according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Vanessa is an example of the 1 in 7 women who experience postpartum depression (PPD), a psychiatric issue that often goes unrecognized in the weeks following birth.

Read more from GPB here.