UAMS Mental Health Forum Addresses Challenges Unique to Women
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Alyssa Frisby, M.S., RD, LD, discusses the connection between foods and a person’s emotional health at the UAMS Women’s Mental Health Forum on Oct. 2.
Image by Bryan Clifton
| True to its theme of “Building Resilience and Insight for Every Woman at Every Age,” the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) Women’s Mental Health Forum on Oct. 2 served up a rich menu of information on women’s mental health, including the role that food plays in emotional well-being.
Jennifer Gregg, Ph.D., opened the forum along with Matt Boone, LCSW, with their keynote speech, “Being Alive in Your Life While Dancing Backwards in High Heels.”Bryan Clifton
Hosted by the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute, the public gathering of health professionals and advocates provided the attendees with a wide-ranging exploration of topics specific to women’s mental health and overall wellbeing.
Keynote speakers Jennifer Gregg, Ph.D., of San Jose State University, and Matthew Boone, LCSW, of UAMS’ Department of Psychiatry, addressed the difficulties that women have dealing with the expectations of modern culture in their presentation, “Being Alive in Your Life While Dancing Backwards in High Heels.”
“Women are often told to ‘calm down, to get a hold of yourself,’” said Gregg, who pointed out that Arkansas is among the top 10 states in the country with the highest rate of depression, with almost twice as many women suffering from the disorder as men. “What we’d like to do is change that so that women can remind themselves instead to ‘stop, notice, allow.’”
One way to do that, she explained, is by employing Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), an evidence-based model of behavior change that incorporates mindfulness, acceptance and personally chosen values. ACT teaches a series of overlapping skills that allow participants to identify the most important values in their lives, said Gregg, the co-author of an ACT workbook with Boone.
“What do we mean by values? We mean how you really want to be, genuinely, if you weren’t worrying about controlling your own feelings or the feelings of people around you,” said Gregg, who then asked the attendees to imagine a specific future milestone in their lives.
“Think about your 80th birthday. What would you want people to notice about what kind of life you have lived? What would make you proud of yourself?”
Kiley Jones, M.D., an assistant professor in the UAMS Department of Psychiatry, led the first in a series of interactive sessions dealing with factors that impact psychological well-being at various stages in a woman’s life. Jones talked about the young patients she sees in UAMS’ Child Study Center, the outpatient child and adolescent behavioral clinic run by the Department of Psychiatry. She discussed how the quality of different patterns of friendship affects teens’ development.
“As we get older, the major influence in our lives shifts from our parents to our peers,” said Jones, pointing to the positive impact affiliation with a group can have on a young girl. “It turns out that it doesn’t matter what crowd you belong to, it’s just important to belong.”
Strong friendships — even online ones — can reduce depression and anxiety in young girls, Jones explained. And healthy friend groups don’t need a dominant leader like Regina George from the film “Mean Girls,” she added.
“There shouldn’t be one person making the rules. If you’re fighting with your friends all the time, maybe you need to find new friends.”
(From left) Kiley Jones, M.D., Laura Dunn, M.D., and Erin Jefferson, M.D., addressed different stages of a woman’s life during their interactive sessions.Bryan Clifton
Erin Jefferson, M.D., a reproductive psychiatrist with UAMS’ Women’s Mental Health Program, focused on the key stages in a woman’s reproductive life — menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum and perimenopause — and their potential impact on mental health.
“With menstruation, all sorts of things are happening, and they’re associated with hormonal changes,” said Jefferson. “And postpartum is a pretty vulnerable time, even if you’re not suffering from a mental illness.”
Lack of access to medical care, as well as high rates of single-parent households and poverty in Arkansas have contributed to the state’s ongoing problems with maternal health, said Jefferson. She went on to explain that mothers having difficulty sleeping when their baby sleeps, feeling disconnected from reality, or having thoughts of harming herself or her child are all warning signs of postpartum depression.
“The good news is that this is treatable. We have therapies, we have medication that we can use in certain cases. And there are support groups that are very helpful,” said Jefferson, who urged the audience to help anyone with symptoms of postpartum depression to get the help they need.
“I want to challenge a common misconception about aging,” said Laura Dunn, M.D., the chair of the Department of Psychiatry and director of the Psychiatric Research Institute. Despite what many people believe, there’s evidence that “a woman’s later years can be a remarkable period of resilience and growth,” she said.
For some older women, however, a stressor such as bereavement or retirement can spark a downward spiral of depression. In this spiral, depressive symptoms such as decreased motivation and energy can lead to social withdrawal and fewer positive experiences, leading in turn to continued depression, said Dunn.
In treating depression, one behavioral therapy that has solid evidence is called “Behavioral Activation,” which helps individuals identify, plan and implement gradual re-engagement in activities that they used to enjoy or find meaningful. Dunn described this process as moving back up the spiral, emphasizing that this improvement may be gradual. “It’s not an express elevator,” she added.
Another tool Dunn mentioned for addressing the behavioral symptoms of depression is the use of any of the numerous smartphone apps currently available that are designed with the principles of behavioral activation — helping individuals in ways that enhance their mood as well as their self-efficacy.
“Many older women are technology savvy and able to use these apps for behavioral activation,” she explained, pointing out that when it comes to most older women, “resilience is the norm, not the exception.”
A lunch panel discussion led by Shona Ray-Griffith, M.D., ambulatory director of the UAMS Department of Psychiatry Women’s Mental Health Program, brought together Ashley Bearden Campbell of Arkansans for Improving Maternal Health (AIM), Elizabeth Bojie of the Arkansas chapter of Postpartum Support International and Nicolle Fletcher of the Doula Alliance of Arkansas to share information about resources available to women dealing with issues related to motherhood.
Afternoon workshops included a presentation by Chelsea Wakefield, Ph.D., LCSW, an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry, on methods of improving a woman’s relational and sexual wellness. There was also a cooking demonstration by Alyssa Frisby, M.S., RD, LD, of UAMS’ Culinary Medicine program.
“Everything we eat plays a part in the way our body functions,” said Frisby, pointing out that certain foods can cause chronic inflammation and oxidative stress, ultimately affecting a person’s mood and cognitive ability. She emphasized that UAMS nutritionists recommend that people eat a Mediterranean diet, which encourages people to eat lean meats, whole grains, plant-based foods and healthy fats.
She went on to explain about the importance of including a variety of fruits and vegetables in your diet, allowing that fresh, frozen and canned options are equally beneficial. “Don’t stress too much about where your fruits and vegetables are coming from,” she laughed.
Frisby added that virtually any food is healthy if consumed in small amounts, but that attention should be paid to the nutrition facts labels that accompany all packaged foods. “It is so incredibly important to know what is in the food that you are buying. And remember, that serving size is just a suggestion. The portion size is up to you.”
“This first-ever Women’s Mental Health Forum, which was made possible by an award from the UAMS Chancellor’s Circle, was a remarkable success,” Dunn said. “We in the Department of Psychiatry are so grateful to our community partners who participated in this event, sharing their expertise and resources. I would love to see this become a regular event that brings our community together to explore all of the ways that we can foster resilience among our girls, teens and women of all ages.”
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