Kate Ernstrom, LCSW, PMH-C, CST (she/her)

Sexuality, Infertility, and Mental Health: Bridging the Gaps

Article by Kate Ernstrom, LCSW, PMH-C, CST and Gabby Pendley, LCSW, CADC, PMH-C Infertility is a highly personal journey, impacting not only one’s hopes for the future but also emotional, relational, and sexual health. In today’s world, an estimated 10-15% of couples experience infertility (ASRM, 2023), a reality that often creates a ripple effect across…

Self-Care During the Postpartum Period: Strategies to Minimize the Risk of Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders

The postpartum period is filled with many physical, psychological, and emotional changes. Matrescence is a term that aptly captures this experience. It is defined as the physical, social, hormonal, and identity shifts associated with becoming a mother and is a distinct stage of life (Sacks, 2017). In reflecting on matrescence, Ignacz (2018) states, “Life will…

Care Coordination: The Benefits of Collaborative Healthcare

What Is Care Coordination? Care coordination is the sharing and exchanging of information about your health and mental health among your healthcare providers to ensure that you receive the most effective treatment possible while minimizing any unnecessary costs, delays, or misunderstandings in the process. During care coordination, members of your healthcare team work collaboratively towards…

Is Sex Therapy For Me?

What is Sex Therapy?  Sex therapy is a type of talk therapy designed to help individuals and couples address medical, psychological, personal, and interpersonal factors impacting sexual satisfaction and sexual health. The broad goal of sex therapy is to address any physical or emotional challenges impacting sexual health, and create a path for people to…

What is Postpartum Psychosis?

What is Postpartum Psychosis? The reproductive years are a time of intense psychological vulnerability for women, with a significant number of psychiatric admissions occurring more around childbirth than any other time in the female life cycle (Wisner, Gracious, Piontek, Peindl, & Perel, 2003). One of the rarer presentations seen during this time period is postpartum…

The Six Principles of Sexual Health and How to Create Your Best Sexual Self

Have you ever taken time to reflect on what your sexual health means to you? Depending on our personal histories and our access to resources (educational, medical, etc.), we may not have an idea of what exactly sexual health means. Historically, sexual health has been understood as simply avoiding unwanted pregnancy or contracting a sexually…

What is Dyspareunia and the Underlying Diagnoses of Sexual Pain

Addressing unwanted sexual pain is a key component of sexual health. The presence of unwanted sexual pain, also known as dyspareunia, can make engaging in sex become quite stressful. Dyspareunia can vary based on the person, and can occur before, during, or after sexual intercourse. It can sometimes even happen while using female hygiene products—such…

How Understanding Desire Can Help You Connect with Your Sexual Self

Source: Joanna Nix-Walkup on Unsplash What is desire? Typically in popular culture, we see sexual desire depicted in a binary way; there are people with high sex drives and people with low sex drives, and there are a multitude of messages about what being in either of these two groups may mean. Mismatch or misunderstanding…

What Is Sexual Health?

Source: Photo by Leticia Pelissari on Unsplash  Have you ever taken time to reflect on what your sexual health means to you? Depending on our personal histories and our accessibility to resources (educational, medical, etc.), we may not have an idea of what sexual health means. Historically, sexual health has been understood as avoiding unwanted…

What We Are Reading This Summer

As we move into summer, we are reflecting on what books have helped us learn and grow over the past few months. We’re sharing what some of the members of our team are reading for comfort, exploration, growth, and knowledge with the hope to instill some inspiration! Natalie Breitmeyer, MA, LPC, R-DMT, RYT  Right now…