Great Minds: Building A Community of Perinatal Mental Health Researchers in Canada

Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen 

Dr. Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen is an Associate Professor of Psychology at the University of Calgary and Visiting Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia. She received her B.A. in Psychology from the University of British Columbia and her Ph.D. from SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology with a specialization in Behavioural Medicine. Her research is focused on psychological and social factors that promote or detract from optimal health trajectories with a particular focus on the transition to parenthood. Over the past decade, she has been involved in development of preventative interventions delivered in pregnancy with the goal of optimizing parent and child health. She is committed to supporting research on the dissemination and implementation of best practices for preventing and treating parental mental health and relationship distress in the transition to parenthood. Her research is supported by a CIHR Early Career Investigator Award in Maternal, Reproductive, Child and Youth Health Award and a Career Development Award from the Canadian Child Health Clinician Scientist Program (CCHCSP).
https://www.healthyfamilieslab.com/
www.pregnancyduringthepandemic.com/
@_FamiliesLab
@ltomfohr

Jaime Charlebois 

Jaime Charlebois is a mom of one who struggled through early parenting due to undiagnosed and untreated perinatal mental illness. She is the Co-founder, Executive Director, and Research Director of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. Jaime has 23 years of clinical experience and is currently working as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Psychotherapist in perinatal mental health. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing, a Perinatal Nursing Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association and a Perinatal Mental Health certification from Postpartum Support International. Her work experience includes clinical nursing, higher education, and clinical leadership positions. She collaborates at the local, provincial, and national level with multiple organizations and committees.

Patricia Tomasi 

Patricia Tomasi is a mom of two who struggled to find help for perinatal mental illness. Her personal experience led her to seek others online in search of peer support while dealing with her own perinatal mental illness. In 2017, Patricia started a Facebook Postpartum Depression & Anxiety Support Group providing 24/7 support to thousands of women from around the world who flocked to join the private group. Shortly after, she co-founded the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative, along with Jaime Charlebois. She is also the founder of the cheeky Maternal Mental Health Matters Blog where she shares her own triumphs and struggles with motherhood, mental health, advocacy and her cat. In 2021, Patricia released a comprehensive anthology, You Are Not Alone, a collection of 49 stories from across the 49th parallel chronicling the diverse mental health challenges parents experience as they embark on the stages of conception through parenthood. Prior to her advocacy work, Patricia spent a decade providing communications and media relations expertise for the Ontario government and in addition to HuffPost, she also worked as a reporter for CTV and CBC news in Vancouver, Toronto, Timmins, and Thunder Bay. Patricia is now a former-journalist-turned-fierce-advocate who went from writing about the state of perinatal mental health in Canada as a reporter for HuffPost to lobbying the federal government for a national perinatal mental health strategy. You can find her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Benicio Frey - Sleep & Biologicial Rhythms Facilitator

Dr. Frey is Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences at McMaster University; Medical Director of the Women’s Health Concerns Clinic at St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton; and Academic Head of the Mood Disorders Program, McMaster University.

His research is primarily focused on understanding the neurobiology of mood disorders, with a focus on female-reproductive life events. Some of his current research involve clinical trials in the areas of premenstrual dysphoric disorder, perinatal anxiety and perinatal emotional dysregulation, as well as studies of sleep and biological/circadian rhythm disruption across pregnancy and the postpartum period. He has more than 250 publications accepted in peer-reviewed journals and has received numerous career awards, most notably the title of University Scholar in 2020.

Nichole Fairbrother - Perinatal Anxiety & OCD Facilitator

Dr. Nichole Fairbrother is a Michael Smith Health Professional-Investigator, registered psychologist and Clinical Associate Professor with the Department of Family Practice at the University of British Columbia. She is the head of the UBC Perinatal Anxiety Disorder Research Lab (PARLab). Dr. Fairbrother’s research is in the area of perinatal anxiety disorders and epidemiology, with a focus on new mothers’ thoughts of infant-related harm and perinatal obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Current research activities include a large-scale study of perinatal anxiety and related disorder screening tools, a new study of postpartum harm thoughts and their relationship with OCD and infant safety, and several inter-connected studies of fear of childbirth. She is currently in the planning stages for a study of the mental health correlates of gender differences in the distribution of unpaid domestic labour and a randomized controlled trial of online CBT for postpartum OCD.

Jaime Charlebois - Perinatal Mental Health Advocacy Facilitator

Jaime Charlebois is a mom of one who struggled through early parenting due to undiagnosed and untreated perinatal mental illness. She is the Co-founder, Executive Director, and Research Director of the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative. Jaime has 23 years of clinical experience and is currently working as an Advanced Practice Nurse and Psychotherapist in perinatal mental health. She holds a Master of Science in Nursing, a Perinatal Nursing Certification from the Canadian Nurses Association and a Perinatal Mental Health certification from Postpartum Support International. Her work experience includes clinical nursing, higher education, and clinical leadership positions. She collaborates at the local, provincial, and national level with multiple organizations and committees.