My career path
I started working in women’s health at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts in Boston. I became interested in systems of healthcare, access to health-related information, and reducing barriers to services and completed a Master of Science at the Harvard School of Public Health. I worked in the sexual health and anti-violence fields and oversaw education, training, and advocacy initiatives at Casa Myrna Vazquez, Boston Area Rape Crisis Center, and MIT.
After my second child was born, I left my MIT job and began facilitating a new parents’ group in my community. I loved this work immediately--being with new parents and hearing their stories and experiences was powerful and transformative. After years of working in an abortion clinic and with sexual assault survivors, I was no stranger to speaking honestly about sensitive topics and empowering others to share their truths. I continued to build my skill set and became certified as a postpartum doula through CAPPA, and as a lactation counselor through the Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding.
After working at the intersection of public health and postpartum support for several years and referring numerous new parents to mental health services, I returned to school to become a clinician so that I could provide these services myself. Especially as a woman of color, I wanted to help meet the need for more therapists of color. After receiving a Masters in Social Work and a Certificate in Trauma Practice from the Simmons University School of Social Work, I now work as a psychotherapist at The Leggett Group in Roslindale.
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After my second child was born, I left my MIT job and began facilitating a new parents’ group in my community. I loved this work immediately--being with new parents and hearing their stories and experiences was powerful and transformative. After years of working in an abortion clinic and with sexual assault survivors, I was no stranger to speaking honestly about sensitive topics and empowering others to share their truths. I continued to build my skill set and became certified as a postpartum doula through CAPPA, and as a lactation counselor through the Healthy Children’s Center for Breastfeeding.
After working at the intersection of public health and postpartum support for several years and referring numerous new parents to mental health services, I returned to school to become a clinician so that I could provide these services myself. Especially as a woman of color, I wanted to help meet the need for more therapists of color. After receiving a Masters in Social Work and a Certificate in Trauma Practice from the Simmons University School of Social Work, I now work as a psychotherapist at The Leggett Group in Roslindale.
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The integration of "micro" and "macro"
Throughout my career, I have provided direct services and care--such as advocacy for survivors of violence, sex education, lactation support, and psychotherapy--while also working to change the systems in which that type of care occurs. I think about how we can increase access to care and incorporate social justice frameworks into our direct services. When I started working at MIT, I noticed that services for violence survivors were disconnected and difficult to navigate. To reduce barriers and increase access to services, I created the Program for Violence Prevention and Response.
As I began working as a postpartum doula, it was clear to me that perinatal emotional wellness is a public health issue, and I began thinking about how to integrate perinatal support services into existing healthcare systems in order to make them more accessible to all families. I developed the Community Health Center Pilot Program as an initiative to promote perinatal emotional wellness and was able to secure state funding for the program. Similarly, I co-founded The Every Mother Project so that all women's health professionals would know how to screen for and respond to perinatal emotional complications and thus increase access to services for women and families. Most recently, I co-founded the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color to promote integration of anti-oppression work into perinatal mental health services and increase the number of mental health providers of color in the perinatal field.
To provide the best mental health support possible for a diverse group of individuals, families, and communities, we have to integrate the issues that are most important to folks' lives into our service provision. When we talk about and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, we can't view race, racism, and trauma as "sidebar" topics; rather, we have to integrate an understanding of these issues into our work.
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As I began working as a postpartum doula, it was clear to me that perinatal emotional wellness is a public health issue, and I began thinking about how to integrate perinatal support services into existing healthcare systems in order to make them more accessible to all families. I developed the Community Health Center Pilot Program as an initiative to promote perinatal emotional wellness and was able to secure state funding for the program. Similarly, I co-founded The Every Mother Project so that all women's health professionals would know how to screen for and respond to perinatal emotional complications and thus increase access to services for women and families. Most recently, I co-founded the Perinatal Mental Health Alliance for People of Color to promote integration of anti-oppression work into perinatal mental health services and increase the number of mental health providers of color in the perinatal field.
To provide the best mental health support possible for a diverse group of individuals, families, and communities, we have to integrate the issues that are most important to folks' lives into our service provision. When we talk about and treat perinatal mood and anxiety disorders, we can't view race, racism, and trauma as "sidebar" topics; rather, we have to integrate an understanding of these issues into our work.
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My clinical approach
I base my clinical work in the belief that clients are doing the best they can for themselves in the context of their own lives. My clinical experience includes screening new mothers for perinatal emotional complications, providing advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, facilitating sexual health initiatives for adolescents and college students, and providing psychotherapy at an in-patient psychiatric setting and at the Simmons University Counseling Center. When I did perinatal work, I was struck by how triggering birth and parenting could be, and how this major life transition would kick various mental health hornets' nests that we all carry with us. As a psychotherapist, I value the opportunity to help clients process interpersonal, relational, and systemic trauma, especially in the context of the transition to parenthood. Other clinical interests of mine include relationship concerns, eating disorders, and navigating life’s transitions. I am dedicated to working with client and families to explore how race, racism, and culture impact identity development and the creation and telling of narratives. I integrate psychodynamic, relational, social justice, and intersectional feminist frameworks into therapy.
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Massachusetts Ellen Story Commission on Postpartum DepressionIn 2016, I had the honor of being sworn in as a member of the Massachusetts Legislature's Special Commission on Postpartum Depression chaired by Representative Ellen Story and Senator Joan B. Lovely. The Commission was created in 2010 when Governor Deval Patrick signed into law “An Act Relative to Postpartum Depression” (Chapter 313 of the Acts of 2010), which established a special legislative commission with different stakeholders in order to study and report on research and policy initiatives on postpartum depression and make recommendations to address postpartum depression. Commissioners were appointed according to the law and in December of 2011 the first Commission meeting was held.
I began attending Commission meetings in 2012 and introduced the idea for the Pilot Programs, and I continued to attend meetings as a community member. It is a real honor to now have an official seat on the Commission, especially since Massachusetts is a true leader when it comes to advancing awareness of maternal mental health issues and creating sustainable systemic changes that support women and families. top |
"Divya was the mastermind and driving force behind the Postpartum Depression Commission's Community Health Center Pilot Program to provide a range of mental health and other support services to new mothers in Massachusetts. Thanks to her ideas and initiative, hundreds of at-risk moms across the state are receiving essential services. The Commission, and, more importantly, moms and families, couldn't be more grateful!" |