014. The Journey of Getting a PMH-C

What is a Perinatal Mental Health Certification and why does it matter?

Feb 07, 2024

Hi friends, I hope you have been staying warm this winter! My electricity bill was shockingly high for December (well, I guess I shouldn’t have been that shocked…) so now we decided to scale back the thermostat a bit and bundle up in the house like the good Asian Americans we were raised to be. (heh.)

That aside, I know I have been a bit delayed in getting back into the newsletter because, well…January. And I can’t believe now we’re ALREADY in February! I felt like I put off a lot of things from December until now and I’ve been trying to play catch up still. Part of the reason was because I was studying for my PMH-C test that took place in mid-December and then before I knew it, half the month was gone and Christmas was taking over in full force.

So speaking of the PMH-C (perinatal mental health certification), I will spend this overdue newsletter going over what it is, why it is important to ALL moms and providers, and how to get one if you are interested! Specifically, I’m sure people are curious about studying and the test, so I’ll describe it a little—at least what is acceptable to disclose. A few people said they wanted to know more about the overall process during the poll I had sent out a few newsletters ago, and I personally know a good friend who is pursuing one now too. So I’ll do my best to be comprehensive without being redundant to the PSI website, and summarize costs, requirements, etc.

I’ll end the post with a few upcoming topics I have in mind, as I finally get back into writing this newsletter. Feel free to skip to the end to get a preview if the rest of this topic isn’t your area of interest. So here goes!

Thank you for reading Pearls of Jasmine. This post is public so feel free to share it!

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What is a PMH-C?

PMH-C stands for perinatal mental health certification, and it is a certification put together by Postpartum Support International (PSI). PSI is one of the largest non-profits dedicated to promoting awareness, prevention, and treatment of mental health issues related childbearing worldwide. Part of this mission involves educating and training the professional community and public too.

So the PMH-C is a way to deliver structured education and denote standardized training and experience. It lets others know that a person who has a PMH-C is trained and sensitive to perinatal mental health issues. For instance, if you’re a mom looking for a therapist for PPD, seeking a therapist that has a PMH-C can help you narrow down that a provider has more training to work with perinatal mental health topics.

This certification started in 2018, so it was fairly new when I had my daughter. (Actually I believe it started the month I found out I was pregnant!) And I also point it out because just because your therapist or provider does not have a PMH-C, it does not mean they don’t have the experience under their belt to deal with perinatal mental health either. But this certification is one way that you can help fine tune your search for someone trained to work with moms.

You can find out the complete information on the PSI website, but I will also give you a run down here too, including costs.

Who can get a PMH-C?

Again, all of this is on the PSI website, but I’ll generally summarize.

There’s three general group of providers that can get a PMH-C.

Mental Health/Psychotherapy
Psychopharmacology—Prescribers (e.g. psychiatrists, OB/GYN, family medicine, NPs, pharmacists)
Affiliated Professions—Peer supporters, nurses, doulas, support group leaders, OT, PT, dieticians, and others

To qualify, candidates need to complete 1) minimum 2 years of practice in their profession, 2) have the required education and credentials, and 3) complete evidence-based perinatal mental health training. It’s preferable that they work with the perinatal population, but not entirely required.

This is where I thought maybe I wouldn’t qualify for this because even though I have been a practicing clinical pharmacist for over a decade, my population itself is not solely perinatal. However, I do come across perinatal patients.

Since becoming a mom and my PPD experience, I have also been a lot more sensitive to my new mom/postpartum patients as a factor in my patients’ care. That, plus my volunteer with work PSI and in general my work with maternal mental health through social media, the PSI staff convinced me that I should apply.

I’m not a provider. Why should I care about PMH-C?

I mentioned this before but understanding what a PMH-C is can help you recognize when someone is trained to be sensitive to perinatal mental health. Whether the person you are working with is a doula, a lactation consultant, a therapist, a doctor, a peer supporter, etc., seeing those letters can be helpful to knowing you have an ally and someone who has been trained to listen non-judgmentally. These people should in theory be certified to understand basics of how a combination of peer support, therapy, and/or medications can be instrumental to helping a mother (or father!) through perinatal mood and anxiety disorders.

It’s not to say that if someone does NOT have it, that they are not as qualified. But it’s one way you may be able to narrow down your search if you have no idea where to start. I often tell people to try to look for a therapist with a PMH-C, but after trying to get one for myself, I realize now there are still not very many out there! PSI has a directory you can look up, though, for your area!

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I am a provider. How can I get a PMH-C?

These are all listed on the PSI website in detail under the category “Steps to Certification”, so I will list the main steps with some of the things I noticed and answers to questions I had when I was walking through the steps.

STEP ONE:
Complete ONE Perinatal Mood and Anxiety Certificate Course. I will list the big ones below, but their website has a list of alternate courses or a form to submit other trainings for review. These are CE courses, so you can also get CEs for licensure purposes. [Side note for pharmacists—they aren’t CPE-accredited; I tried asking for it!]

PSI 2-day Perinatal Mood Disorders: Components of Care Course—(14 hours CE) This is the one I took. There are several dates throughout the year and many are available over Zoom. You do have to attend LIVE as they will not record for replay, so look out for time zone differences too. But it’s two days, plus you can add on a third day of the advanced training (step two) and get it all over with. They will mail you a manual with all the slides printed after you register! ($425 standard, $325 student)
Maternal Mental Health Webinar Certificate Course (16 hours CE by PSI and the Policy Center for Maternal Mental Health) —This one is a 2-hour class for 8 sessions spread over 3 months. The classes are recorded so it can be easier to go back to, but certain groups looking for a type of CE credit may have to attend live. ($500 standard, $410 student/resident)

STEP TWO:
Complete ONE Advanced Certificate training specific to your track/group (Psychotherapy, Psychopharmacology, Affiliated Professionals).

PSI offers these trainings as a 6-hour CE course. Check their website for more details and alternatives. ($250 standard, $150 student)

STEP THREE:
Apply to take the exam, and upload your Employment verification form.
It takes them about 3 weeks to get back to you about your applications. If you just recently completed a training, it will take another roughly 2 weeks or so to receive the participation confirmation.

STEP FOUR:
Register for the exam at PearsonVue (exam centers globally). You will receive an “ATT” or “Authorization to test” by email when your application is approved, and it will walk you through how to register. ($500)

STEP FIVE:
Prepare and take your exam (see next section)! The PSI 2-day training manual is a good study tool and you’ll get it if you take their course. It’s also available for purchase for $40 on their website if you don’t have it.

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How should one study for their PMH-C? How is the test?

I hadn’t studied for an exam in over a decade and I wasn’t sure how to study for this exam either. But I was told that the 2-day manual from the PSI 2-day training was sufficient if I would just review it several times. So for me, I seriously started studying about a little over a month out from my test and carved out a few hours every weekend to have someone watch my daughter (thanks to my parents and hubby!) while I snuck out to a coffee shop or hid in the office with my headphones on, poring over the manual and taking my own notes on the side. I also took a few hours on my day off to study.

For me, I like handwriting notes, as the act of writing out things solidifies the facts for me. So I had a little notepad and a bunch of colorful pens and highlighters and I would add notes to the manual and in my own notepad to summarize different sections of the manual.

I personally read through the manual about 3-4 times over in that month and then reviewed my notepad, and I felt like I was prepared. (Maybe even overkill, but I get anxiety as I get closer to a test and fervently re-read notes.) I wouldn’t say the test was tricky or too hard, but if you study the material taught, you should be solid. Remember, it’s the same test for all practitioners, so there won’t be super in-depth questions that are too advanced. Think big picture and important-to-note topics.

The test is 125 questions, and you have to get at least a 70% to pass, so you need to get 88 correct. You get 3 hours to take your test, which I found seemed to be way more than enough time. And one thing to point out is that you CAN go backwards to review your test before submitting—I’m just saying this because I remember for my pharmacy boards, certain sections you were not able to go backwards once you submitted an answer.

The testing center provided ear plugs, scratch paper, pencil, and you are able to leave your belongings in a cubby that the attendants keep safe. Make sure your registered name matches your ID as well.

Lastly, you will find out if you passed the test or not before you leave!

After you pass and get your certification, you can ask PSI to list you on their provider directory if you wish.

Costs and other questions

I acknowledge it’s not cheap, but some places of employment may offer reimbursement for trainings for CEs, so don’t forget to look into that. If you join PSI membership, you get a bit of a discount off trainings ($50 off), their conference, their online store, etc. Here’s a summary:

Step 1 trainings: PSI 2 day course is $425 standard, $325 student OR MMH Webinar $500 standard, $410 student
Step 2 trainings: $250 standard, $150 student
PearsonVue Testing Center: $500
NO Annual renewal fee, but 6 CEs/year to be submitted every 2 years.

One way you can consider lessening costs if you reach out to your local PSI state chapter to see if they have any scholarships for these trainings! I found out recently that my state offers some, so it can’t hurt to ask and apply!

If you end up having questions about the whole application, like if you qualify (this was me!), or questions about the test, you can always attend one of the free monthly Zoom FAQ sessions to ask anything! Just register beforehand—it’s always on the first Friday of the month.

Wrap up & Coming Soon:

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I am trying to balance the new year with recording podcasts, decluttering space, juggling extracurriculars, and finding time for myself (on top of working and mothering and wife-ing lol). So thank you for your patience in how slow the newsletters have been coming out lately. Besides for recording for my own podcast, I have been asked to be a guest on a few others too! So that’s very flattering and exciting as well, but I am just trying to be aware of my own energy not to burn out too.

Upcoming topics I want to cover:

My child asked how babies get inside mommies… here’s what I’ve been doing
Thoughts on how toddlerhood is slipping away
One and Won

I’ve been trying to think up ideas also how to make this newsletter more helpful and build up a community too so would welcome any feedback. Feel free to comment or reply to this newsletter if it’s in your email with any suggestions or topics you want to hear about!