The ARCH Lab collaborated with colleagues from McMaster University on a paper published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, titled “Peer-Delivered Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Postpartum Depression: A Randomized Controlled Trial”.

The objective of this paper was to determine if a 9-week group cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) intervention delivered by women who have recovered from postpartum depression (peers) can effectively reduce symptoms of postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety and improve social support and the mother-infant relationship.

Seventy-three Ontario mothers participated in the trial. Results showed statistically significant improvements in symptoms of depression and anxiety in the experimental group, and these improvements were stable at the 6-month follow-up. Perceptions of impaired mother-infant bonding and rejection and pathological anger also decreased at the 6-month follow-up in the experimental group.

The authors concluded that peer-delivered group CBT for PPD effectively treats symptoms of PPD and anxiety and may lead to improvements in the mother-infant relationship.