Book Club & Case Consultation: To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage and the Modern Dilemma
Objective:
Our Transitions to Parenthood seminar is designed for mental health professionals who specialize in, and/or would like to grow their expertise in treating the emotional struggles of new parents, and to better support their relationships with their infants and young children. Each meeting lasts for 3 hours and is composed of approximately 90 minutes of didactic material followed by approximately 90 minutes of case presentations/consultation to apply the theoretical and research-based concepts we are discussing to real work clinical work.
This session will explore the developmental life cycle of a committed relationship/family and the impact of becoming parents on the family system by reading and unpacking the book “To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage and the Modern Dilemma” by Molly Millwood, PhD. (The author notes that she hopes this book is helpful to all parents in long-term relationships but acknowledges the book most closely reflects the experience of cis-gender women becoming parents in the context of a heterosexual relationship.). We will explore common vulnerabilities that are evoked in new parenthood and how these may impact coping strategies, communication and emotion regulation and then how these may impact the parent’s relationship. Whether you work with couples and families or individuals, this seminar will support therapists to compassionately hold the family system in mind, while more deeply understanding the impact of becoming a mother on a woman’s sense of self, and support clinical thinking and interventions that are sensitive to our clients’ most important and close relationships.
Goals:
- Participants will be able to explain the tasks of development in adults as they enter parenthood and how these may impact couple relationships
- Participants will gain competence in the specialized areas of assessment and treatment planning for perinatal women & couples
- Participants will practice identifying the difference between content and process in sessions with perinatal clients
- Participants will learn to see and listen to clients through an attachment frame
- Participants will identify ways to integrate the impact of cultural messages and gender-based socialization into our understanding of distress with perinatal clients
Seminar dates:
- Friday, March 13, 2026
- Friday, April 10, 2026
- Friday, May 1, 2026
- Friday, June 12, 2026
- Friday, July 10, 2026
- Friday, August 7, 2026
Participants have two payment options available: Monthly billed at $110 per month or one-time payment in full of $594 (saving of 10% of full price). Registration links are below.
A total of 18 hours of CEs provided by The Family Institute at Northwestern University.
CE credit and the Certificate of Completion (provided at the end of the seminar) can also be used as the Advanced training requirement to apply for the PMH-C credential through Postpartum Support International or to renew your PMH-C credential with the required perinatal specific CEs.
What to Expect
Meetings will take place virtually via Zoom and will be facilitated by Nikki Lively, M.A., LCSW, Clinical Director of the Transitions to Parenthood Program.
Seminar sessions will be live and interactive. The reading/discussion portion of the seminar WILL be recorded, and the case consultation portion WILL NOT be recorded to protect the confidentiality of case material and to provide safety to reflect on self-of-therapist experiences. Participants are encouraged to save the date for each seminar as payment is required regardless of attendance to save your spot and keep the seminar group small to allow for group discussions and participation. However, the recorded discussion will be sent out to all participants in the event that a date must be missed or just to review again, so that the main content for the month will still be available.
Participant Requirements
The seminar is limited to 15 participants and requires a six-month commitment.
Participants will be required to purchase the book “To Have and To Hold: Motherhood, Marriage and the Modern Dilemma” by Molly Millwood, PhD. (Any additional or supplemental articles will be provided.). Participants should come prepared with at least one reflection to share from the reading and be prepared to present at least one clinical case (preferably of an individual, couple, or family dealing with some aspect of transitioning to parenthood) during the six-month course.
Participants are expected to actively participate in group discussions.
