Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Kripke.
Hi Kate, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I have always been drawn to kids and teens and perhaps the entry to my work as a maternal mental health specialist was through the door of the children of mothers. There was a time when what I wanted most was to work with kids and to focus my attention on adolescent development and mental health. I worked for Outward Bound both internationally (in South Africa) and in the US (New York City Outward Bound) where I focused on supporting young people to gain a sense of agency, self-worth, and empowerment- an early professional choice that set me up for the path towards founding the Postpartum Wellness Center/Boulder. After working for Outward Bound, I returned to school to get my Master’s in Social Work (Smith College School for Social Work) so that I could pursue a career in adolescent mental health. My first job out of school was to run a counseling program at an after-school center for kids in the Mission District of San Francisco. The kids refused to come and talk with me. The line of mothers was out the door.
It became clear to me pretty quickly that what kids need most is healthy parents- that when we focus all of our attention on treating the “problems” that show up for kids without understanding the context of family mental health, we are missing the point. What the kids in the after-school program needed more than anything was for their parents to be supported, held, and healthy. They needed their mothers to feel sense of agency, self-worth, and empowerment. They needed their mothers and fathers to be mentally well.
So, I transitioned my training, professional development, and clinical work to focus on the mothers. What do mothers need to be biologically, psychologically, and socially well? If we can get mothers the support that they need, will their children thrive?
The answer is a resounding “YES.” And the research and data backs this up. Untreated maternal (parental) mental illness is the leading cause of childhood mental illness. When mothers are well enough supported biologically, psychologically, and socially they are much less likely to develop clinical depression/anxiety. Which reduces the risk of clinical depression/anxiety for their kids.
I had my first daughter in 2007 and struggled with Postpartum Anxiety to a degree that caught me off guard. But I knew this work! Wasn’t I immune? Of course, not- we are all at risk for developing a perinatal mood and anxiety-like PPD. My own experience motivated me to focus on the window of perinatal mental health- that very important time period when parents are just becoming parents. When we can set mothers up early for mental health, we are guiding whole families in the right direction.
I moved to Boulder, CO from San Francisco and founded the Postpartum Wellness Center in 2008. Our team grew relatively quickly. The PWCB now includes a team of mental health providers, a reproductive psychiatrist, a Chinese medicine Doctor/acupuncturist, an infant/child sleep specialist, a Naturopathic Doctor, and Lactation Consultant. Our goal is to support the biological, psychological, and social health and wellness of families from conception on so that families are set up for success. When we can help to prevent and support early maternal mental health challenges like Postpartum Depression/Anxiety, we are indirectly providing support to those babies and children who will become adolescents and young adults.
The PWCB continue to redefine itself as we bring in new ideas around how to support mothers and families in our community. We offer individual support/treatment, groups, classes, and professional development training and we are always looking for new community partners in these efforts.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect? Smooth road? Do they exist? I have learned through my professional journey that nothing comes without a zillion and one bumps in the road.
Here is what has been “smooth”:
* The need for maternal mental health care has been here from the start. When I first arrived in Boulder in 2008 there were not yet supports in place for new mothers. I connected early with Boulder Community Hospital and they welcomed education and support around perinatal mental health. We restructured the discharge plan in the Family Birth Center to include resources on perinatal mental health and illness. I taught free classes and workshops that were well attended. Maternal depression/anxiety has existed forever, and as soon as we starting talking about it, people came running to learn more. We are now partnered with 5 ObGyn and Midwife clinics around Boulder County where we provide maternal mental health checks to all patients. The desire for collaborative care in this community has been inspiring. The easiest part of growing this business has been finding a niche and a need and going from there.
* The PWCB has grown organically- the right professionals seem to have landed at the doorstep at the right time. I have had the gift of working alongside of some of the most highly skilled, compassionate, curious, and dedicated providers in our community. That “build it and they will come” mentality has proven to be true for us.
Here are some challenges:
* We are a small business in the heart of Boulder, CO. It is incredibly important to me to explore questions of privilege, diversity, equity, and inclusion. This is a work in progress.
* I am a social worker running a business. I never went to business school, and at one point early on our bookkeeper said to me “Kate, you have one more month to continue running this business from your heart, and then you need to begin to run it from your head.” I am still learning about what it means to be a small business owner, and I will tell you that it is not easy. Making business choices from a place of wanting to serve others and take care of people first and foremost (Community, clients, and employees) will not grow a business financially. I have given away a lot for free and have not always been smart about making decisions around financial growth. I am pulled in two directions in my work at the PWCB. To this day, I don’t actually have the answers around how to both care for community well and make money. This is a place for continued growth and exploration for me and being a small business owner has invited all of my human vulnerabilities and imperfections to come to the surface. I suppose, actually, that this challenge is a gift- I am forced to learn and grow every day.
* Along with the above, is the question of how to run a successful medical center. We decided to begin to accept insurance during the pandemic so that we could support a wider range of women and families. Ethically, socially, and politically this felt important to both me and my team. But I have learned that our medical and insurance system is not set up for this to work for a small business like mine. Answers around what do about his are still TBD.
*We are a learn-as-you-grow kind of business. We are all about trial and error. So, to put it mildly, we have made a bunch of mistakes along the way that we have learned from. At times, these mistakes have negatively impacted others and so we are constantly learning about mistake and repair, improvement, and forgiveness. I guess you could say we are trying to model good parenting 😉
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and I specialize in early maternal mental health. I am specifically known for my work in the prevention and treatment of Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Disorders like Postpartum Depression/Anxiety. As one of the first therapists in Boulder specializing in this area, I am known for helping to change the landscape of maternal mental health care in the area. I am incredibly proud of this- of the overarching changes that have been made in our community with respect to what is available in the support of new families.
As a therapist, I am known for my direct and no-BS style of supporting mothers. I truly believe that all women have what they need to feel empowered as mothers and to raise healthy children, regardless of (or as a result of) the struggles and life experiences that they bring with them to the role as “mother.” In my clinical work, I focus on personal responsibility, self-awareness, self-compassion/mindfulness, community building, cognitive restructuring, and radical self-care as a way of accessing health and wellness in motherhood. One of the best parts about doing the work that I do is that I have to practice what I preach- and so my clients give me the gift of focusing on these things in my own life as well. My work makes me a better human and mother.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I grew up in Brooklyn, NY, but my fondest memories are of my time in the “country” where I was able to access quiet and calm. One stand-out memory- Sitting on the dock on Lake Waramaug with my two oldest girlfriends, Katie and Amy. We called in “Dock Talk.” It was the start of my deep understanding of the need for community, the role of girlfriends, and the way in which unconditional love and support is imperative for health and wellness.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.pwcboulder.com
- Instagram: @pwcboulder
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Postpartumwellnesscenterboulder/
Image Credits:
Maria Levitov Photography
