What is Postpartum Depression & Perinatal Mental Health?
Having a child is one of the biggest life changing events that one can experience. If you are a first time parent, the stark difference from pre-baby life to post-baby life can bring about feelings of depression, sadness, worry, and doubt with vacillating periods of highs and lows. Postpartum depression is a moderate to severe form of depression that develops approximately four weeks after a woman has given birth and can last for a few years.
Perinatal mental health focuses solely on the various mental health illness that mothers can develop post childbirth up until a year postpartum. During this period, a woman experiences so many changes: physical, emotional, hormonal, and relationships to name a few. Perinatal mental illness have shown to affect as high as 30% of new mothers. The overall goal of providing perinatal mental health is to help Mothers regain mental clarity and take back control over their lives.
Perinatal mental health focuses solely on the various mental health illness that mothers can develop post childbirth up until a year postpartum. During this period, a woman experiences so many changes: physical, emotional, hormonal, and relationships to name a few. Perinatal mental illness have shown to affect as high as 30% of new mothers. The overall goal of providing perinatal mental health is to help Mothers regain mental clarity and take back control over their lives.
Dr. Taylor J. Bryant,
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Welcome to my page, Momma! My name is Taylor Bryant and I am the Postpartum Recovery Coach here at Empress Evolve. I have a beautiful son who was born in 2022. He is super curious, talkative, extraverted, and doesn’t take no for an answer! Like many of you, I spent time planning with my husband for the birth of my son. It was all we’ve ever wanted since the beginning of our relationship. What I did not plan for was developing Postpartum Depression. After all, I had all the markers for having a healthy postpartum journey. I truly struggled with resentment, anger, and deep grief resulting from the end of the life I once knew, post baby. I had always been a positive, glass half-full type of person so to experience resentment and anger, I knew something was wrong. I became passionate about perinatal mental health and healing other mothers from postpartum illnesses after realizing that so many of us are neglected. This was something that I could not accept and began to create a space and services to help Mothers take back control over their lives and create mental clarity.
I started my educational journey in 2009 in the field of forensic psychology, with a focus on the connections between crime, law, and psychology. I received my master's degree from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology. My PhD is in Forensic Psychology with a focus on the impacts that childhood trauma has on female sex offenders. Over my career, I have treated hundreds of women with PTSD, Postpartum Depression, and a host of other mental health illnesses and delivered them from feeling chained to their current circumstances. Additionally, I have spent time providing family therapy across different types of family dynamics and cultures. Most recently, I serve as a Clinical Consultant of the only evidence-based trauma center in Pennsylvania. It is my passion to help women all over the world heal from perinatal mental illnesses and find themselves again. Experiencing Postpartum depression myself, I am fully able to understand and capture the essence of a postpartum mother, her mental health, and her strive to feel whole again. I have made appearances on podcasts and conferences geared towards spreading the message on perinatal mental health and the impacts that unresolved trauma plays in parenthood. Check it out on the links below! |
Since I started my session with Taylor, I have made tremendous progress in my ability to deal with my trauma. We have talked and worked on things from my beliefs and my childhood to a serious car accident I was involved with. I'm asked at the beginning of our meeting about the best thing of my week. One of my answers is looking forward to our meeting. I believe Taylor is truly working in her gift. She has been professional a hundred times over and she finds a way to make us laugh and heal. I'm sure the rest of the Empress Evolve team is as excellent as Taylor. The people they touch will have positive changes in their lives. When I'm asked how I deal with things, or who do talk too, I tell them I do the 3T…Talk To Taylor! - Baneo S.
I highly recommend Taylor at Empress Evolve. She has been a great help in assisting me with my healing journey. She has given me tools to effectively help with communication and setting boundaries. Because of her, I am now able to build healthier relationships. - Daisha M.
Taylor was a godsend! I had a lot of difficulties transitioning from a ‘single life’ to now having to care for my daughter. I really struggled with anxiety and honestly thought I was doing everything wrong. Taylor helped me see that I am doing what is best for me and my new family and helped me realize that I deserve to help myself too. I experienced trauma as a kid and didn’t know just how much it was showing up in how I dealt with my daughter and viewed myself. I would recommend Taylor to any mom out there who wants better for herself! - Breonna R.