Online Peer-Delivered Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Postpartum Depression

Study Contact

brantpeercbt@gmail.com
 

Study Description

Postpartum Depression (PPD) affects up to 20% of mothers and can have profound negative effects on women and their families. Indeed, just one in ten mothers with PPD receive evidence-based care, a situation that has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. The healthcare system struggles to provide timely access to the treatments that women most prefer
(i.e., psychotherapy). Barriers such as a fear of judgement, travel, frequent appointments, and arranging childcare also prevent women from getting the care they want and need.
 
Online treatments delivered in groups are one potential solution as they can help expand social networks and reduce travel and childcare barriers. Peer-administered treatments, those delivered by people who have previously recovered, may be an effective alternative to traditional mental health services. They could also help women with PPD overcome many of the barriers they face when attempting to find help.
 
A group of lay peers are trained to deliver the 9-week group CBT intervention. We will test the effectiveness of the intervention at treating PPD and reducing common complications and comorbidities of PPD when added to treatment as usual compared to treatment as usual.
 
Online Peer-Delivered Group CBT for PPD is a novel approach to service delivery that can greatly increase treatment uptake, providing mothers experiencing PPD with access to a credible and engaging source of help, and has the potential to revolutionize the treatment of PPD in Canada and around the world.
 
We aim to determine if:
 
a) Online Peer-Delivered Group CBT for PPD delivered by trained lay peers added to care as usual during the COVID-19 pandemic can improve PPD more than usual care alone
 
b) The intervention can reduce the impact of the common comorbidities and complications of PPD (anxiety, partner relationship discord, social support, infant temperament, parenting stress, and poorer mother-infant attachment)